


Why don't you listen to me?

by PhysicalTurian



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Chains, Dressrosa Arc, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Fruit user Reader, Gen, Idiots in Love, Innuendo, Leashes, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Punk Hazard Arc, Reader-Insert, Sad, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Touching, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhysicalTurian/pseuds/PhysicalTurian
Summary: How many mistakes can you make until it's unbearably obvious that you're in love with your Captain? How long can you hold back from telling him how you truly feel, and how much does it have to hurt to finally come clean?[No pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone +18][Spoilers for Punk Hazard and Dressrosa]
Relationships: Trafalgar D. Water Law/Reader
Comments: 32
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reader's fruit is the teleportation fruit!  
> There is no warning for now

Trafalgar Law. When he left the crew to go on Punk Hazard, I knew something was off. I knew him enough to know that while he might seem cold on the outside, he did rightful things. That’s why there must have been something deeper behind this course of action of him suddenly leaving us to go work with Caesar Clown on this forsaken island; He would have never worked for this mad scientist if he did not have something else in mind.

After having let Bepo and the others know of my plan, I asked them to let me follow our captain. I was met with a bit of resistance from most of the crew, they tried to hold me back but I was able to convince them to drop me off on the abandoned island. They were right to tell me it was crazy to follow him, and I did not have any good reason to give them to justify my actions but my stubbornness. However, I did not tell them that and instead said I needed proof that our captain was not going to become a maniac murderer and that once I had that proof, I’d come back. They agreed, hoping it’d go smoothly, hoping that I’d come back in a few once I realized our captain was not doing shady stuff.

But nothing went according to plan. While I was able to follow him to the facility without getting caught, I realized it was not exactly the case. With no one around, he stopped in the middle of the tundra and raised his hand. I tried to take a good look at what he was doing, but with the constant falling of snow, I could not see much. _“Room. Shambles.”_ In an instant I went from leaning behind a frozen stone, to falling on the snow-filled ground, with only my hands to soften my fall. With a certain disappointment, he muttered my name, “You can’t be here, why did you follow me?” I quickly got up, trying to brush off the snow from my coat before shoving my hands in my pockets. “Trying to prove a point.” I shrugged.

With a scoff, he shook his head as he adjusted his sword on his shoulder. “Go back to the submarine.” He said before walking past me, but I quickly grabbed his shoulder, earning a dissatisfied grunt from my captain. “Wait, tell me you’re not turning bad.” _Why did I sound desperate like this? I have to get myself together_ , so I let go of his arm, muttering a sorry as I took a step back. “We’re pirates, aren’t we already bad?” he asked rhetorically. I knew he was trying to joke around, at least that is how I took it but I did not need that right now. _Fucking Law and his way of avoiding things_. “That’s not what I meant and you know it- just tell me if I’m right-“ he sighed but turned around and was now facing me.

“You have a bigger plan, right? You don’t believe in what Caesar is doing, right? He’s been testing shit on children in there for crying out loud! We can-“ “I know! I know what he’s doing, _I know._ ” He raised his voice at first, then gradually it lowered as if he was even disgusted by what I said. His answer, while not straight-up answering my questions, gave me all I needed to know. “It’s just the beginning, but you need to go, I don’t even know why you followed me here.” I felt my heart tightened at that, I was not about to tell him that I did it out of pure selfishness, but it was the case. I followed him to make sure I did not like someone that was rotten, to make sure he was actually still right in his mind and that it was still alright to feel something more that camaraderie for him _. Ah, how stupid is that_?

Laughing it off, I raised my shoulders a bit then let them down, my eyes slowly meeting his. “You’re right, you’re right, captain.” Pointing behind me with my thumb, I gave him a small grin, “I’ll go back, come back to me- us, come back to us in one piece, alright?” I laughed nervously afterwards, noticing the slight change in his expression at my lapsus; It made me want to dig a whole and crawl inside but I kept my casual attitude. Turning around to leave, I stopped when I heard my name being called in this all too familiar way, “Why did you follow me?” _The question_ , he did not have to ask it like this. He did not even have to ask it at all, because I would have to find a subtle way to not confess. Seeing how he was frowning he would be safer to indeed find an excuse, he truly looked confused.

My brain now running wild, I said the first thing that crossed my mind: “Bepo asked me to come,” why did I say that, it was a lie, I was bad a lying, I’m sure he could see it on my face, and yet I continued; “Yep because we were all a bit worried by your departure you know? And you know how they are,” I was about to continue but seeing how the stern look on his face had not changed, he was still staring at me with the same intensity. So, I stopped and gave him a curt nod, “We’ll wait for your return captain.” The hope in my voice was unfamiliar to me, I knew what was going on here, I knew it too well. And I did not plan to return to the submarine, but that’s not something he was going to know. Hearing his farewell, I think I heard him say ‘ _Just Law_.’ But I could not be sure, so I kept on walking until I reached a safe place to stay.

I had taken a few things from the submarine before leaving, just enough to be able to survive a few days on this god forsaken island. Knowing the crew must have been worried, I called them and told them I was going to stay a bit- once more they started yelling, saying I had to come back and that it wasn’t safe but with as much confidence I could give off, I reassured them. It was a hard task to do considering they were ready to storm here and bring me back to the submarine, themselves. “I promise, I’m alright. I’m well hidden, and I’m just staying a few days, until I’m sure he’s alright.” There was a shuffle behind on the other end, so I waited until I couldn’t hear anything before speaking once more. “Guys?” waiting a bit more, Bepo’s voice came through as he said my name softly, “I’m sorry if this is not appropriate but seeing how you’re so worried for the captain even though we know he’s strong, I couldn’t help but have that theory that maybe you like him… sorry if it’s embarrassing, maybe I’m wrong-“

Damn him and his observation skills, I thought I was being discrete. Maybe I should have come back to the submarine, maybe staying here just out of worry was stupid indeed. But he was right, so I cut him off, “Don’t apologize, I-…” I trailed off, running my hand on my scalp. “It’s nothing more than a crush, really, but I’m really worried you know? I am staying professional, so everything is good.” Once again, there was a shuffle then I heard Penguin’s voice very close to the den den mushi, “Give me the den den mushi, Bepo-“ _Ah shit, everyone was still there. I thought they had left_. At this very moment, I regretted telling Bepo, because now I knew they would all tease me, the usually stoic person of the crew, the professional looking one, for having feelings.

Not that I ever said I did not have any, I just did not like letting anyone know what I felt. And the one time I did, they were all there. Sighing, I spoke again, “Guys, guys. Don’t you dare tell the captain anything, it’s going to go away. It’s just a crush, so keep your mouths shut, ok?” The loud voices I could hear, meant they did not agree to that at all. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but I definitely think someone said that knowing I had a heart made them believe in the most supernatural things. But since they all kept talking at the same time, all together, I just told them I’d hang up, adding that I’d see them later. What I did not know was how late I was going to meet them again, and how much I’d miss them in between.

Days on Punk Hazard were long, very long, I had everything I needed to survive but temperatures were so awful I could hardly sleep at night. But I made it through; Most days looked the same but I was safe and I did not come across anyone, and for that I was grateful. Every day I would leave my hideout and check on Law, making sure he was still fine. When I could see he was uninjured, I’d go back and wait for the next day. I trusted him, but I also wanted to make sure he was not trafficking kids. After a few days or weeks, I didn’t know anymore, there was something strange that happened, from my spot I could see the dragon Vegapunk had created to protect the island. And at some point, that dragon got taken down.

From there on, I knew things were about to change, so I packed my stuff and followed the people that had taken down that gigantic monster. I had to assess if they were allies or enemies, see if I should warn Law or not. At that thought, I shook my head and kept my pace, following the group of loud people; I was not going to warn him, he was strong enough and he would definitely beat me up for having stayed on the island instead of following his order of going back to the submarine. _It’s good, it’s alright, I’ll just assess from afar_ , I thought with determination. “Yeah, it’s all right.” I muttered, as the moment left my mouth I noticed from my higher point, that the group of people down had defeated the centaurs of the island.

_Nothing stops them it seems; I can barely catch my breath that they’re already on the move again_. I got up and followed them once more as they rode on the leader-centaur. _The guts to do that, do they not respect anything_? But it was slightly funny too. The further we walked through the tundra; the more rumbling could be heard. At some point, I could no longer follow them from my high vantage point and had to go down the mountain to be able to follow them. I almost lost them by the time I reached the bottom, but I managed to catch a glimpse of them and was able to resume my discrete walk.

I was surprised when on their path, they came across a rough fight that had just ended between the Marine and- _Law_? He was standing there with Admiral Smoker’s heart in his hand, then started walking away as the Admiral’s crewmates gathered around him. _What has he gotten himself into? Is that why he did not want us to help him? Did he not want to get us involved with the Marine_? As the people that had defeated the centaurs walked on, the man with the straw hat waved his arm high and called out something. I could quite hear, but I could see he seemed to be having a discussion with my captain, for a moment I wondered who it might be then everything came back to me. It was the Straw Hats crew. We had taken care of the young captain after the Summit War.

Coming closer to listen on what they were saying, I only had time to hear my captain’s directions before having to hide from the group of people that were coming back on their path. I stayed there a few minutes, seeing them disappear in the constant snow then sighed. _Puru puru puru. Puru puru puru_. Scrambling to my senses, I grabbed my den den mushi and pick up, “Yes?” “ _Come out from your hideout, I can see your foot from behind the wall.”_ I felt the blood drain out of my face upon hearing my captain’s voice. This is why I was not the person they send on recon missions; this is exactly why. Now he knew, and I had to come clean, right? “Right away captain.” I mumbled before hanging up and feeling myself being swapped like before as he used ‘ _Shambles’_.

“I told you to leave. It was a direct order, why are you still here.” My throat tightened, and I felt my face heat up, it was embarrassing to be in this situation. I never expected to be scolded like a child, it all started from a good sentiment, right? _I simply wanted to make sure he was alright._ There was a silence. I couldn’t look at him in the eyes, instead I focused on the tattoos on his hand while he held his sword over his shoulder. What could I say? If I spoke, I would just tell him the truth, and it would be even more embarrassing. “You disobeyed a direct order-“ He stopped himself and took a deep breath to keep his cool. What had happened to him to be this unnerved? No one had seen me, everything was fine.

It ticked me off, so with a bit more bite I spoke up, “Direct order or not, I don’t see why you’re getting frustrated when I haven’t been caught- that’s a bit dramatic if you ask me.” I shrugged, finally looking him in the eyes and seeing he was almost seething, even though it did not show that much on his face I could see it clear as day. “Dramatic? I never asked you to come here, it’s dangerous! I can’t watch your back here,” he said the last part a bit angrier towards himself than at me, saying my name in a threatening manner. “I didn’t ask you to watch my back- if anything I’m watching yours, but I’m not planning on fighting-“ “That’s not the point!” his hand tightened on the handle of his sword and he closed his eyes, his free hand pinching the bridge of his nose.

Hearing the door open behind Law, I grabbed his shoulder and teleported us in a higher location so that we would not be caught by whoever had left the facility. Whispering in a hushed tone, I continued, “Then what’s the point? If I’m not fighting, you don’t need to watch-“ “If you get caught, you won’t have any choice but fight! And since you can’t listen to orders-“ I interrupted him the same way he did me, “That’s not- I _can_ listen to orders just, not this one, I was worried. That’s all. I know you’re strong Law!- _Captain_ , I meant captain.” I took a deep breath and calmed down, “I know that, but I can’t help it, ok?” Sighing, I gave him a smile that hopefully conveyed how sorry I was. His previously angry face was now back to his usual frowning one, but I could see he was confused.

Law looked to the side and placed his sword back on his shoulder, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m going to ask the Straw Hats for an alliance, once you’re back on the submarine, tell the others to wait for me at Zou.” He did not even continue on the topic, he just cut the conversation short. He ended it entirely, ready to leave. But I was surprised, “Zou? How long until you meet us there?” Zou was a ghost island; I did not know how he expected us to find it and even less how he hoped to meet us there, but he seemed set on the idea. His answer was a long hum, “Some time. I have things to do before that.” He explained off-handedly. I quirked a brow but did not question him further, if he did not talk about it more than that it meant he was trying to keep us safe and not involve us.

I hated that because it meant he was about to do something dangerous and crazy, without even mentioning it to us. And yet, I nodded. “I get it, I’ll get out of Punk Hazard.” I stated. His eyes widened for a second, as if it was a miracle to hear me say that. I chuckled at this reaction, and it made him pull his cap down. “Be careful captain, I’d like to have you back with the crew, alive.” He scoffed, a small, and yet beautiful, smile painted on his face. He then opened his coat, grabbing something from the inside of his pocket, before ripping a piece of it and handing it to me. “This should ease your mind. A piece of my vivre card.” It’d be a lie if I said it didn’t lift a weight off my chest, but there was still this constant feeling I had when he was around that was not leaving.

Taking the piece from his hand, I grazed his fingers and felt how soft they were. How stupid is that? _Obviously, they’re nice, he’s a surgeon, he has to. It would be strange for him to have rough hands, right? I mean he’s a surgeon and a swordsman so it could happen, but here_ \- “Everything okay?” The pirate said. Getting out of my daydream, I realized I was holding his hand instead of just taking the paper. In panic I quickly let go, almost dropping the piece of paper but grabbing it before it could fall. “Yep, all good captain. Thank you- see you soon?” A huffed laugh escaped his lips as he nodded before placing a hand on my shoulder, it was so close to my neck that I felt shiver ran down my spine at the feeling of his cold fingers grazing my skin.

I quickly got myself together and placed my hand on his shoulder and teleported him back down, squeezing his shoulder before letting go. “I’ll let Bepo know that you’re fine, good luck.” For some reason it made him laugh, instead of asking what was so amusing I turned around and left. He did the same as he entered the facility, once I made sure he was inside, I teleported from points to points instead of walking. I did say I was going to leave Punk Hazard, and since he was going to make an alliance with the Straw Hats, odds were that he’d ask them to help with what he had planned. All I had to do was sneak on their boat and wait for them to leave the island, it made sense, right?

Making my way around the island to find the boat, I pulled out my den den mushi and called Bepo, the moment I heard him pick up, he started rambling. It was a long speech on how I shouldn’t have done what I did, that I should come back on the boat, adding that he even called the captain since I was not answering- “You what? Bepo what did you do?! Oh my…” with a soft ‘sorry’ he stopped rambling and asked if he had done something wrong. I chuckled, but felt completely embarrassed. “I- no you didn’t, it’s just that out of panic I told the captain I had come here because you were worried… what did you tell him?” Hearing him stutter a bit, I gasped when I saw the big flashy boat on the freezing water outside. _There it is, the Straw Hats’ boat_.

“Just that- you know, you had asked us to go on the island because you were worried- and you said you were staying there- but then you stopped picking up so we had to ask the captain if he knew if you were ok! And he said you were fine, he said he saw you every day for the past few-“ I couldn’t help but laugh loudly, but nervously. _So, he knew I was bullshitting him_ , I mean at least he doesn’t know I have a crush on him, right? That little shit never said he saw me, now I felt like an idiot for having thought I had never been caught. Fucking shit. “Alright, alright, everything is fine. I saw him a few minutes ago, he said we had to meet up at Zou.” Everyone started protesting, saying it was hard to find and constantly on the move. It was not news, everyone knew how hard it was, and yet our captain had thought it’d be the best meet-up point.

“You can already go, I’ll be staying here and accompanying the captain. Just don’t tell him that, he… doesn’t know that exactly?” More protests ensued after my hesitant announcement, as I snuck on the huge boat that was left on its own while the rest of the Straw Hats were on the Island. I had not hung up, yet, and paid attention to what they were saying as I walked around, trying to find a spot to lay low in the meantime. _They would definitely go back inside, probably to the med bay once they’re done with taking care of Caesar, right? So, going inside wouldn’t be smart_. Thinking some more, I looked around, craning my head up as I noticed a huge place on top, like a nest. _See, they’re not going to check there, right_? I teleported up there and entered the room through the door, it was cozy and pretty empty, but warmer than where I had been staying that past couple of days.

Bringing the den den mushi closer to my face, everyone was still talking so I had to interrupt them, “Everyone, please. I’m not changing my mind; I don’t want to let our captain go alone. Please do as he said and we’ll meet up on the Island of Zou, alright?” grumbling they agreed, but I knew that wasn’t enough. “I promise I’ll bring him whole; I mean he can definitely take care of himself but I’ll give him extra care just for you.” I said jokingly, clearly, I shouldn’t have since that seemed to spark a fire as they all started shouting, and talking at the same time, saying that clearly if I was going to give extra attention to our captain it wouldn’t be because of them but because I liked him. I took it as my cue to go; with a short goodbye I told them we’d see each other soon then hung up.

Now that I was finally alone with my thoughts, and in a warm, very warm place, I was able to let my guard down. Sitting down on the wooden bench against the wall, I took off my coat and placed it on myself like a blanket, making sure I had Law’s vivre card in sight in case anything happened. _I’ll just take a quick nap and wake up before they’re back, I just need to catch a few hours of sleep, two hours sounds good. Yeah, two hours in this warm, comfortable, well-isolated, windless place_. It took me only a few minutes before the fatigue took over me and I was knocked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the first chapter on Tumblr and thought I'd post everything in one go here, but hey, nah, I'm curious for some feedbacks!
> 
> Added on 13th January 2020  
> Words: 3966


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't believe there is any warnings, do tell me if you think I should add some!!

_“How did that stranger get here?” A gentle voice said. “That’s super weird, I didn’t see anyone when I brought the Sunny around the island!” This one is so much louder. “Are there any injuries? Should I take a look?” “Wait, Chopper! I’ll go tell the captain, see what we have to do.”_ This person had common sense, warn your captain first before taking any course of action. Taking a deep breath, I was about to open my eyes when I started choking on the smoke that was around the room. Sitting up quickly, I put my hand on my nose and threw a glance around the room as I saw a man in a suit going down the stairs, the smoke following him. My eyes then looked around some more and I saw a small reindeer next to me, along with two other members of the Straw Hats crew. Giving them a smile, I quickly realized the situation and cursed under my breath.

Throwing my coat on, I stood up and apologized profusely, “I did not mean- I had planned to wake up before you all came back but I fell asleep and- I’m not hitching a ride or anything I was waiting for my captain- he doesn’t know I’m here though, so that kind of sounds strange-“ I was interrupted by the sound of my name being called by an all too familiar voice. I winced visibly as I turned around, making the three people in front of me chuckle as they stood up from beside the bench. “Captain.” I said in a composed tone, now seeing Luffy right next to my captain, he seemed confused. However, he did not have time to ask any question that the infamous Black Leg told everyone to leave us alone, which they did. It was awkward to wait for them to go down the stairs, but once they did, we were truly alone.

That’s when I felt my heart tighten in my chest. “You lied to me.” He said as he approached, taking his hat off before walking past me and sitting on the bench behind me, his elbows resting on his knees.

“I didn’t, I said I’d get off Punk Hazard and- I did I went on this boat so-“ I was cut off,

“Don’t play with words, do you know what happened out there?” he asked in a way too serious tone. Shaking my head, I took off my coat once more, feeling too hot in this room now that he had joined me. I put it on the ground and sat in front of my captain, trying to meet his eyes.

“A gaz-“ he paused, composing himself, “If you had been out there you could have…” he trailed off, running a hand through his hair before sighing. “It doesn’t matter now, it’s over.” He grunted, putting his hat back before standing up. In panic at grabbed his hand and sat him back down, he wasn’t even talking to me. He was not even feeling angry like before, or frustrated. He was resigned. I didn’t like that.

“I’m sorry captain-“

“Law, just Law.” He said. I was caught off guard, but nodded before resuming.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you- I… I keep repeating myself but I was just worried and I realize I disobeyed your order and I’ll stop doing that. I’ll just return to the submarine I’m sorry… Please don’t kick me off the crew?” I tried to play the last part off, as a joke but I was truly worried I had unnerved him to the point where he would have had enough. I thought I could make him understand I cared by… well, being worried but I just really had a hard time sharing my emotions.

“It’s too late for that,“ He grunted.

A knot in my throat. I couldn’t really speak when I heard his words but I nodded as I stood up. “Understood, I’ll get my stuff and leave-“ “I meant, to return to the submarine, look outside, we’re already on our way to Dressrosa.” Pointing at the window with his slender hand, I shuffled to my feet and noticed all the blue that surrounded us.

“I would apologize but, I don’t think I could have stayed at Zou knowing you’d be off on your own, so…” Facing Law again, I saw the small smirk that had drawn itself on his features as a huff laughed escaped his lips. “What has gotten in your head to follow me?” he asked, a bit curious, while leaning back on the bench, his arms resting on it. I hid my grimace, it wasn’t the first he had asked me that question and at some point, I was bound to be honest with me, but that moment had not come yet. “Bepo-“

“Don’t tell me Bepo was worried, he already told me that you were the one that insisted to go.” He stated in his low and beautiful voice- _come on, focus, you’re caught, find an excuse_!

Grabbing my coat from the floor, I let out a nervous laugh. “Right, I had forgotten that- I already told you I was worried, that’s all I can give you captain.” His brows furrowed quickly, and I chuckled as I quickly muttered his name instead of his title. Sitting down next to him, I let enough space between us for at least one person to sit; I may have a crush on the man but I did not plan to act on it, so I had to not give off the wrong idea.

“If I’m being honest, I just feel like you’re about to do something crazy. It’s a gut feeling, and maybe I’m wrong, but hey, I can’t go back now, so you’ll have to bear with me until we’re back with our friends.” Tipping his head down, Law laughed lightly but it felt off, almost dark. Then he raised his head and met my eyes with his grey ones.

“I’m going to kill Doflamingo.” He stated.

I blinked a few times at his words, taking in what he had said. Kill… Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The previous smile on his face had disappeared in an instant. He looked off to the window, his cool attitude changing entirely as he grabbed his sword and held it with both of his hands. He had talked about that man, the awful things he had done. Nothing good came out of him, nothing, and while I did not condone murder, I did not feel anything if he were to disappear of the face of earth.

“I understand, I hope it’ll bring you what you seek- I’m not really one for revenge but if you think it’ll help you-“

“It’s not about helping, it’s about doing what’s right- it’s about following Cora-san’s will!” I felt so small when Law stood up and was now towering over me, pushing him away slightly, I stood up too but didn’t move. Instead, I gave him a warm smile.

“I see, I’m sorry for misunderstanding. Do you trust the Straw Hats enough to have them help you with something personal like this?” He was probably irritated enough to not have me here; I should probably just make myself small. Or not, I was not like that, but I would try to not get on his nerve too much. His expression lightened and he stepped back, putting his sword back on the bench.

His form slouched, he shrugged, “It’s an alliance, they’re strong. It’s enough for me.”

I couldn’t hold back my chuckle as he said that, I could see he was getting along with their captain. I’m sure they were on the same wavelength, or else he wouldn’t have suggested this alliance. “I see a blooming friendship, that’s so beautiful Law- admit it you like him,” Nudging his side with my elbow, I was hoping to get a confession out of him but instead he grabbed my arm and stopped me.

It was always fun to tease him, it was hard to get a reaction out of him but when I could, it made my day. Right now, even though he reacted some way, I could feel the warmth of his hand through my shirt. Part of me really wanted that hand to hold me, I kind of wanted to stay there longer but instead I chuckled nervously and grabbed his hand to free my arm. “Promise, I won’t tell them you’re actually growing fond of them.” I said teasingly, for a moment there I felt my face heat up for some reason. I shouldn’t be acting like this around my captain, right? Sighing in fake exasperation he repeated that it was just an alliance, and I shrugged while walking towards the door. “I can read you like a book captain Law; nothing escapes me.” Shaking his head, he followed me, making sure to not forget his sword.

“Right. Well, now that you here, I’ll introduce you-“ Cutting him off I shook my head, “I can do that just fine by myself, I think I recall my name just fine too.” I told him jokingly. A gasp escaped my lips as, from the corner of my eyes, I saw the small paper I had left on the bench, Law’s vivre card. I rapidly took it before following him outside, “But you’re my responsibility, for being a member of my crew.” He paused, then on a lighter tone continued, “And a stowaway.” A cackled escaped my lips as I placed my hand on his shoulder before teleporting us down to the deck, where people seemed to be interacting together, they weren’t really talking considering the people running around the deck while being chased by the ginger woman. “That’s the alliance?” I asked Law, barely above a whisper, as I leaned closer to him. He tilted his head forward but didn’t say anything, instead he removed my hand, that was still on his shoulder before turning towards me with a frown.

“You’re freezing- why didn’t you say something earlier,” The way he said my name at the end of his sentence sent shivers down my spine, goosebumps all over my skin, if he could say it like that again I would enjoy it greatly. _Get yourself together, he’s a doctor of course he’d get worried over your dumb ass_ , I told myself before pulling my hand back.

“It’s alright, I did sleep through worse when I, not so discretely, watched over you on Punk Hazard.” I said sheepishly. But the sheepishness probably made it worse as he told me to stay put before he walked off to the elegant black-haired woman, she looked so kind and poised on her chair as she read her book amidst the chaos that was happening on deck. Talking with her, Law then turned around and pointed at me, the woman’s face lit up and she waved at me before smiling oh so beautifully.

Waving back, I reciprocated the smile which seemed to annoy Law since he turned around quickly, pulling his cap down before resuming his discussion with who I assume was Nico Robin. My focus was brought to a loud voice that entered my ear very loudly, someone said my name in the loudest way possible as they threw an arm around my shoulder.

“You’re Torao’s friend! I don’t remember fighting with you at Punk Hazard!” he exclaimed before stopping dead in his words, looking at me for a long moment, pondering with a confused expression.

_Should I tell him that I was actually not fighting with them and that I had just… followed my captain? Or maybe_ \- “Well! It doesn’t matter, Sanji’s about to make some food, you should come! Sanji’s the best cook- he’s so great, you should try his food! Come on! I’m hungry!” I was then pulled towards a door that led to the inside of the boat but quickly got stopped by a tattooed hand.

“Mugiwara-ya, give me a minute.” He told the Straw Hats captain, who, strangely, listened as he ran inside shouting for more food, more meat.

“He has so much energy, it’s so fun- he’s your exact opposite! Not that you’re not funny, but like, you’re way calmer. I like that- I don’t think I could ever handle Luffy’s energy, yours I can, I’m used to it you know?” A hand placed on my shoulder stopped me in my accidental ramble, I felt my cheeks heat up in an instant as I looked off to the side, slowly coming to the realization that it wasn’t Law’s hand on my shoulder but one a lot lighter.

“Nico-ya will show you the bathroom, you need to get warm. I don’t have time to take care of you if you get a cold.” He stated before gesturing with his head to the person behind me. Turning around I saw Nico Robin’s warm expression and grinned back.

When I turned back, saying “Ah you’re just worried-“ I noticed he had entered the boat and was nowhere in sight. “Come on, I’ll show you around.” She then led me to what looked like a small interior bath house. I was amazed by the inside, we did not have that on the submarine, it was a lot brighter than our bathroom; And spacious too. Stepping inside, I took off my coat but stopped in my tracks, seeing the fruit user sitting on a chair next to the door.

“I’m good miss Robin, I think I can bathe on my own.” I told her lightly, earning a surprised gasp from her.

“No need to call me miss, you can call me Robin. But don’t worry, I’m not going to look, I’m just here in case you fall asleep.” She explained softly, but it confused me a bit. Seeing that she was covering her eyes I removed my clothes and stepped inside the scalding hot water; It must have been just hot at first but considering how cold my body was, the shock between the temperatures made it a lot warmer.

“Fall asleep? I’ll just get cleaned and get out, don’t worry.” I said softly. Chuckling slightly, she asked if she could look, if I was in the water, and I told her yes, so she uncovered her eyes, smiling.

“I’m not worried, Torao said,” frowning she took a slightly deeper voice, I had to hold back from laughing out loud but listened intently as she imitated Law explaining that one time, I fell asleep in the bath after a long fight and Bepo was the one that found me out, burning hot and asleep in the bath.

Once she was done, her expression changed entirely, “He also added that he did not want you to get sick, if anything I think he’s the one worried about you.” She then grabbed a book from the small table next to the chair.

Folding my arms on the edge of the huge bath, I started thinking. I did not think Law cared that much, sure it would be a pain in his ass if I got sick but that’s about it, he was a great doctor so I understood if he did not want to spend time on someone with a cold. I’m even surprised he remembered that one time I passed out, I almost forgot that. It wasn’t going to happen again, considering that it only happened because I had lost a lot of blood and was pretty tired that day. All while thinking about him, I washed myself then simply enjoyed the warmth of the water. It was one of those rare time I could relax, but it felt nice. Maybe Law could take one too, he looked rather stressed… maybe part of it being that I completely ignored his orders _… I’m an idiot_. Now he must hate me for being a stubborn moron.

Fuck, definitely not how someone shows any sort of affection, but it doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to act on it anyway. _Yeah, just, keep it in_. “Daydreaming?” I heard Nico Robin’s voice echo in the room, bringing my attention back to her, face heating up from what I was thinking about.

“Daydreaming, ha! No, no, nothing to daydream about, just thinking.” A smile drew itself on her face as she closed the book in her hands.

“Not even your Captain?” She suggested teasingly, my eyes widened in shock at her words. It couldn’t be that obvious, it’s been going on for months and it’s only now that people were realizing it? I hadn’t done anything to be obvious, right? So, I denied it.

“Law? No, no, a Captain? That’d be crazy, he’s a Warlord too- I couldn’t, I would never. No, no, he’s too- too much, and grumpy you know? I mean sure he’s funny, kind too, and determined- or is it stubbornness? But grumpy, I don’t care how handsome he is, you know? I mean I can handle his grumpiness, I don’t mind it that much-“

I cut myself off, realizing that I was talking way too much and that I had just done the exact opposite of what I had planned on doing. This was not denying, this was an obvious confession. This was bad, I had to stop being honest and stop blathering what came through my head. _I’m an idiot_ , I thought as I let my head hang but quickly lifted it back up when I heard Robin laugh charmingly.

“It’s cute, if you’d like to talk about it, do not hesitate. I rarely have the occasion to talk about such things, it could be nice.” I stared at her in awe, _cute? I’m not cute, I’m a fool for having a crush on a gorgeous pirate that has a bounty of 440 Million berries_.

“Talk about it? I’m not- I’m not planning on doing anything about it, it’ll go away. It’s a foolish crush, and he has definitely other things to do than think of a nice way to turn me down. So, yeah…” There was an awkward silence, maybe I shouldn’t have said that but it was how I felt.

About to get up, I realized my clothes weren’t where I had left them. Since there were towels nearby, I wrapped them around myself and look at Robin a bit lost. “Where are my clothes?” As if coming to a realization she stood up and brought me a fresh pair of clothes, but they weren’t mine. It was something I would wear, and it was my size… for some reason… but it wasn’t mine.

“Your clothes were pretty dirty; I gave them to Chopper so he’d clean them.” She then thrusted the clothes in my hands, “Those’ll be adequate for the weather in Dressrosa,” She then walked towards the door, but turned around as she reached it, “My offer still stands, I’m here if you’d like to talk. Or, you know… gush about how attractive he is.” I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile as I nodded, telling her I’d think about it.

When she left the room, I heard voices outside and paid attention to what was being said. I think I heard Law’s voice behind the door asking if I had fallen asleep, and Robin’s answer being that when she left, I wasn’t asleep but she had to go help Chopper. I did not know her enough to know if she was lying or not, but it was pretty suspect the way she said it. I also wondered why she would say that, she knows I’m out of the bathtub and getting dressed- my train of thoughts got interrupted by a gentle knock on the door, quickly followed by my name. _Fuck could I hear him say my name many more times_. “Alive and well, come in.” I called out once I was finished with putting on my shirt. If I didn’t know better, I would have said there was hesitance when the door opened. “You did not fall asleep, good.” He then stepped forward and placed a hand on my forehead, I almost flinched at how sudden it was but stood there.

“No fever. At least you’re not freezing anymore.” He stated. When he let his hand fall back to his side I shrugged in response, “Don’t speak so soon, you’d be surprised by how quick my body temperature fucks me up, Law.” I said jokingly as we made our way out of the room, I think I heard him chuckle as he followed me outside. His cheeks were slightly red from the heat of the room and he looked so cute like that, it was a rare sight to see him with colors on his face. It almost looked like a blush, but I did not comment on it.

Once we made our way to the dining room, shivers ran down my spine despite the sun that shone outside. “You’re cold.” Law said as he glanced my way, his hand wrapped around his sword as he led the way. I’ll admit I would get lost around this boat, seeing how big it is; Which is why I was grateful for his presence, not just because he was pretty soothing to be around… no… _Right he had said something-_

Throwing him a glance I laughed a bit, “Ah, I’ll warm up, don’t you worry- maybe I’ll ask the little reindeer if he wants to cuddle, he does seem quite fluffy and warm-“ I heard him say ‘ _Shambles’_ , then saw something appear in his hands before he handed it to me.

“Tony-ya is busy, just take this.” I hesitantly took his coat from his hands, brushing mine against his tattooed ones. Just like before, they were soft and I wanted to hold them a bit longer, which I accidentally did when I did not pull away with the coat right away and instead let my hand touch his. I observed his features, even though he looked away, but as seconds passed, he turned his face towards me with a scowl.

“Are you taking it or not?” He grumbled; his face still slightly red from the heat of the bathroom. “Right, yeah- yeah, thank you!” I said with a bit too much enthusiasm as I grabbed the coat and draped it over my shoulders before following him to the kitchen.

My face heated up at the same time my body did with the coat. It was nothing, he was just being careful so that he did not have to spend extra time on me if I did get sick from the cold. It wasn’t a romantic gesture or anything, just a friend lending another friend some help… unfortunately.

Then, my mouth spoke faster than I could think and said, “It’s quite comfortable, if all your clothes are this comfortable, I might have to borrow them more often.” _Why did I say that, was this flirting? Or was I joking_? I did not even know, I had to stop talking. I was usually able to hold back from being like this, but maybe it was because I never had alone time with him? Usually the crew was always around, I could not let my guard down but right now it was just him and I, and my stupid idiotic heart wanted to come clean, but no.

Hearing him sigh, I felt like I had made a mistake and was about to apologize when I heard him say, “I would not mind. You look cute like this.” Then he sped off and went to talk to the blond cook.

As Law spoke with the cook, I stood at the entrance of the kitchen, baffled. _Had he said cute? Me? No, it was probably more of a, cute like a child wearing their parents’ clothes, right? But still… cute?_ Shaking myself out of my reverie I looked up and joined the men in the kitchen by Law’s instruction, or more by his gesture of me to step inside, which I did. The table was full, everyone was drinking and eating to their heart’s content, the skeleton however moved from his seat and slithered towards the thief, Nami was her name. He asked her something I couldn’t hear but the woman beat him up for it, which startled me.

“Are they always like this?” I asked as I leaned towards Law, I felt pride burst in my chest when he chuckled lowly but I did not show it.

“They’re loud.” He simply said. I could only hum in agreement, loud was one word, they were merry, rowdy, loud indeed, but also… _welcoming_.

One of the men around the table was pretty talkative and from what I could hear, he was only spurring bullshit but the youngest of the bunch seemed to believe all that he was saying. My observation was cut short when Law pulled me towards the kitchen, instead of just standing in the dining room, and asked Sanji for a serving each. The blond cook served us before doing a bee line and going straight to the two women at the table, asking them, enamored, if they needed anything.

“He’s quite… vocal with his- uh… affection, isn’t he?” I said hesitantly.

Law didn’t answer, but we both sat at the island that was facing the oven and started eating in silence. At least, in as much silence as possible when the entire Straw Hats crew was having a blast during their dinner.

“Hoi, Torao!!” Luffy called out.

Law put down his fork with an annoyed grunt and looked over his shoulder at the other Captain. “What.” A wide grin spread on his face, Luffy shoved more food in his mouth before speaking; Using the bone in his hand, he pointed at Law, then at me,

“Are you both dat-“ the energetic captain was interrupted when hands appeared all over his body, and face.

Nico Robin had used her power to make him shut up, for some reason. The ginger woman peeped in a bit embarrassed, “What Luffy meant to ask was, are you both- enjoying the food? Sanji makes the best food!” she asked with a big smile.

I was a bit confused, but nodded. “It’s very good, you have a very talented cook in you crew.” I said in all politeness, in the background the blond cook almost had heart-eyes at the compliment from the ginger. Next to me, Law sighed and grabbed the slice of bread from his tray then dropped it on mine, not commenting on the short interaction that that happened with the Straw Hats.

I smiled at that before remarking, “Still not a fan of bread, I see.”

Looking at his plate, he did not reply, instead he shrugged.

“I’ll be your designated bread eater, don’t worry.” With the fork in his mouth, he smiled slightly while I tore the bread before dipping it in the sauce. Although the crew behind us seemed to be whispering a lot, I was mostly focus on not letting it anything slip through my actions, anything crush-related. I focused hard on keeping thing casual, cool, composed.

However, to my captain, I was just taking too long eating. He had finished rather quickly and was now waiting with his arms crossed over his chest. “Are you almost done?” he asked impatiently. Surprised by his demeanor, I looked at him with my mouth full of bread and quirked a brow before swallowing, “You can go, I’m almost done anyway-“

“It’s ok, I’ll wait. Then you’ll follow me.” Could his words be any more ominous? Instead of leaving, like I had suggested, he did as he said and stayed until I finished. But he seemed restless, he kept glancing behind us at the Straw Hats every time they would mutter a word remotely close to either my name, or his, or even to our crew. Instead of asking him what got him so on edge, I finished my plate then stood up, earning a surprised face from the swordsman.

With my plate in hand, I gave a curt nod to Law, telling him I was done then put it in the sink before pulling at his sleeve once. “Where shall we go O captain my captain-“

“I already told you to stop calling me that,” He grumbled.

Instead of telling him I was just fooling around, I could not control myself I teased a bit, “Right, _Torao_ ” The speed at which he faced me made me snort without an ounce of charm, I put a hand to my mouth and looked to the side. The expression on his face was even more priceless, “Not you too-“ seeing how distressed it made him, albeit how funny it was, I nudged his side as we walked and interrupted him.

“Kidding, kidding, Law, Trafalgar Law- but you know Torao is much more fun-“ his deadly glare made me change the route I was taking with my words, “But Law is badass, you’re badass, Law it is. I guess it’s cute too.” I shrugged.

He cleared his throat before walking ahead, we quickly reached the outside deck where Caesar was tied up; I had only now realized the man was there. “Hey, what’s he doing here? Shouldn’t he be thrown into the ocean or something?” I inquired as we made our way closer to the annoying stand-user.

“I thought you did not like revenge.” Law commented jokingly, I threw him a glance but couldn’t keep it long seeing how gorgeous he looked with that smile of his. Swearing under my breath, I looked back at the pale man who had an almost pleading face.

“For him I would make an exception though. Definitely.” I stated, earning a laugh from my captain as he put his sword down against the mast.

“We need him alive in the meantime,” he then quickly explained to me the importance of the man, and although I understood I did not like the idea of him being on our ship. But I was not about to throw their plan off just because I hated him, so I nodded.

“Alright then, we just, what? Watch over him?” The raven-haired man nodded before sitting down on the floor, leaning his head against the mast. Shrugging off his coat, I threw it on him before sitting next to him, more likely slumping next to him; A bit too violently too, considering the pain I felt on my backside when I hit the floor, but I ignored it.

“This sounds fun. Crew bonding, love me some bond.” I closed my eyes a moment, pondering why I said that, but only for a moment before opening them again when I felt a weight on my lap; It was Law’s coat, the same one I had threw back at him. “I- I’ll ask inside if they have a spare blanket, not that I don’t like your coat but, it’s a coat, and clearly it’s not practical.”

“You can sleep inside if you want, watching over this idiot is not the most entertaining thing-“ Since I had stood, I couldn’t see his face due to his cap, so as I interrupted him, I took it off his head and frowned. He did groan at my actions, not liking it one bit, but I still spoke.

“I said, _bonding time_. I’m not about to let you and that moron alone. Plus, I would not miss an opportunity to sleep under the starry sky, with _you_ nonetheless-“ I stopped dead in my tracks and winced, I should really shut up because the more time I spent around him, the more my tongue would slip. With as much composure I could muster, I turned around and told him I was going to go get a blanket. Once inside, the hubbub from earlier as we ate, had slowly quieted down, all that could be heard was piano being played in the background as they talked together.

Entering the dining area, everyone around the table was asleep but Robin, Franky and Sanji; Nami and Usopp were nowhere to be seen, while the captain and his right hand-man were asleep with their head on the table, and youngest of the crew being asleep on his chair. The skeleton however, was the one playing the piano, he seemed in a sort of nostalgia as he played his tune, so I did not hover and entered discretely.

“Hi, can I bother you real quick?” I asked softly,

Sanji who was enthralled by the black-haired woman in front of him only hummed in response as he puffed smoke. “Do you have any spare blankets, since I’ll be watching over Caesar Clown with Law-“ The cyborg leaned on the table, smiling brightly, the way he rolled his r’s as he spoke made me smile, “How romantic! I didn’t think Torao was like that-“ Nico Robin pulled him down, so that he was sitting again, then she whispered something to him in a hushed yet urgent manner. It calmed him down as he looked to the side, a bit red.

“Yes, we have spare blankets. They’re in the hall, come on I’ll show you.”

Thanking her, I was startled to see the skeleton standing at the door with his hands over his ‘cheeks’, but stopped before bumping into him. “How beautiful, young love- I do believe I have a song that could fit the mood if you’d like. Ahh it has been a while since I played the violin but it could-“ As he opened his skull and started rummaging through it, he got interrupted,

“Brook! Please,” Nico Robin widened her eyes then gestured for him to go back inside the dining room, which he did after closing his skull, albeit a bit confused. I could feel my whole body burning in embarrassment, for months I had kept this crush a secret and now, everyone knew? Or perhaps I thought it was a secret, but I was obvious and the crew was playing along- it must be it.

“Still thinking?” The gentle voice of Robin reached my ear, I blinked a few times and looked at her, a bit lost. Humming in response, I stopped when she did,

“I guess I am, uh? I think I’ll ask him to stargaze.” she chuckled softly before handing be two blankets and pillows then turning around.

“Wait up- wait miss Robin- Robin, just Robin. Right.” She paused, smiling and cocked her head to the side, curious. I was hesitant, squeezing the blanket tighter; Taking a long breath, I sighed, “How- I mean, _should_ I flirt? With… Law, I just don’t know what to do. I would usually talk to Bepo but-“

“You should, if you feel comfortable doing so.”

I made a face in response, then decided against it. “Yeah, no… you’re right, I shouldn’t. I should keep things professional- it would be awkward if he rejected me, you’re right.” Before the woman in front of me could speak, I turned around and rushed off, hearing a confused ‘ _I did not say that at all’_ in the back.

_I just give him his stuff, then sit down, and shut up. Yep. Easy_. “I got everything; the entire Straw Hat crew is exhausted it seems. I can’t really blame them though,” I said off-handedly as I arrived. “Do they often sleep in such random places?” I wondered as I sat down next to Law, opening the blanket wide and covering both us with it. Considering that we had 2 blankets, I could have given him one, and one for myself too, but I decided to put both on both of us.

“They are quite special, I’m sure they’ll wake up and move to their bed soon enough.” At the same time, he did, I grabbed the blanket to pulled it higher, and our hands grazed. Like a high-schooler I reacted stupidly and giggled like an idiot. “My bad, ah, yep you- you do you.” It was not the right thing to say, nor the bad one either. But it sucked for sure.

_Change the topic, just do it_. “I have an extra blanket if you need it-“ turning around to face him for the first time, I suppose I had been avoiding his gaze for unknown reasons, I saw he had taken his hat off. And I huffed a laugh, in surprise. “Your hair it’s-“

Annoyed, he ran his hands through his hair, grumbling, perhaps trying to tame it. “No, no, it’s good- it’s fine, it’s actually adorable, I just rarely see you without the hat and- no I like it, just surprised.” He mumbled something I didn’t quite heart adding a scoff to it. Curious, I asked him to repeat but he only scowled, telling me that it was nothing.

“If you’re sure…” there was a short silence, so I spoked again, “I really meant it as a compliment, I really like it-“ covering my mouth with his hand, he sighed,

“I get it, I get it, will you sleep now?” Raising my brows, confused, but nodded and grabbed his hand to pull it away from my face. For a second, I did not let it go and considered holding it; It could be a subtle way to try right? I could hold his gentle hand and feel the warmth-

“Is there a problem?”

Dropping his hand quickly, I shook my head and looked up the stars instead of him. “No, yeah, there- nothing. Wake me up when you want to sleep, we’ll take turns, alright?” I muttered as I started sliding to the ground; Although he hummed in agreement, I knew he would not, so I gave him a dirty look,

“I mean it, you also need some sleep. I can manage that chained-up stupid scientist- no, you know what I’ll take the first turn actually. Or else, I know you won’t wake me up.” I said quickly, pulling myself up so that my back was aligned with the mast and I was sitting straight. Law tsked and told me to stop acting cute, I needed to sleep and he was not going to let me fuck my sleep like that.

“Is that so? Did you even sleep since you got back from Punk Hazard? Mm?” he seemed taken aback for a second, seeing the surprised expression on his face was rare, but I had grown to like it for some reason.

“You think you’ll be able to take on Doflamingo, if your body is as exhausted as your mind?” After I said that, he frowned, his mouth slightly open as if he was about to say something but instead decided against it. “Come on Law, for a doctor you really don’t give two fucks about your health-“

“I’m not letting you watch over this moron on your own, I don’t care if I don’t sleep. Some things are more important.” I would have smiled at how stubborn he was, but at the same time I wanted to hit him for being a dumbass.

“You’re exhausting, and exhausted, I can see it. But alright. How about this, we watch over him until someone else takes the shift, then we go sleep, _together_ -“ I stopped at the use of word, seeing how he quirked a brow I could see he was no entirely convinced by my choice of words either. “Together like- both of us we’ll go sleep, somewhere but not like together, more like- hey you get what I’m saying, just, let’s fuck our sleep more, then fix it, you know?” His beautiful laughed sounded like a melody to my ears, making my cheeks heat up lightly at being able to get this out of him.

And he agreed, strangely. The night was long, a few times I felt my head lull backwards or to the side; When it’d hit the mast, I would straighten myself right away, however when it would hit Law’s shoulders, he wouldn’t say anything. It was only after minutes of being in this state, between asleep and awake, that I would realize and wake up quickly. I would berate him, jokingly, and his only response was a shrug, however I could see a slight smirk in the corner of his lips as he did so.

It’s like in his head he was telling me ‘I told you so’ like he felt proud for being still awake, while I was clearly slowly falling asleep. The sun could not arrive sooner, around what felt like five or six in the morning, noise could be heard inside the boat, more than the usual creaking noises a boat made. The sound of people walking around, getting prepared, all of it. I was getting excited to finally be able to go to sleep very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm more content, they're two idiots for sure. Hope you liked it, I'm still on the grind. Others chapters are ready! But I keep them safely tucked... Do tell me if you enjoyed it!
> 
> Added on 15th January 2020  
> Words : 6809


	3. Chapter 3

“Good morning my two lovebirds, how was the evening? Was the sky clear enough for you to stargaze?” The skeleton said happily.

I felt my face heat up when he pointed his last question at me, _has he heard my discussion with Robin?_ _We did not even stargaze, I did not have the courage to suggest that, because I’m an idiot_. “Mister Brook, you’re awake- what a lifesaver you are! Would you be so kind-“

“Bone-ya, your turn to watch over the gaz idiot, he’s dead asleep right now so you get the easy part.” Law stated before standing up, blankets in hands, as he pulled me up with him and tugged me towards the door that led inside the cabin. I followed his fast pace and once we were inside, he let go of me without looking back at me.

“I’m already using the free bed in the men’s quarter, I’ll check if there’s a spare bed somewhere-“ A soft voice interrupted Law, a voice I knew quite well already. Facing the source of it, Robin had a towel around her shoulders as she dried her hair.

“My bed’s free, since I’m awake,” looking at me she smiled brightly, “You can use it, I don’t think Nami will mind. She’s a quite the heavy sleeper.” I was a bit surprised by her suggestion, but considering the look on her face, she really did not mind. I nodded slowly. “Thank you, I would love that.”

Turning around to give my captain a look, I smiled. “I’ll be off then, good night- or like, morning, but you get me. Good sleep.” I felt a weird feeling in stomach when he smiled back, albeit a bit tiredly, it was still genuine. Before I left, he placed his hand on my head a few seconds, not doing anything, then walked away without another word, his hand falling to his side. I stood there a bit confused, then looked back at Robin when she cleared her throat right next to me.

“Ah right, show me the way, I’m right behind you.” I told her as she walked in front of me once more, helping me through the ship until we finally reached the quarters. As I was about to enter the room, she put her arm right in front of it, stopping me right there. Meeting her eyes, I saw a certain mischievousness to it and sighed internally. _This is about last night; she is definitely going to mention it_ -

“How was the evening with your captain? Have you made a move?” I couldn’t help but return her smile, she seemed to excited by all this. Almost as invested as I was, it was like having a friend. She had such a warm aura; I had no choice but answer her truthfully.

“It was… something? And I did not make a move- I said I was not going to do anything, and I didn’t. No matter how cute he looked ok? I just,” Moving my hand, flat in front of me in a calming gesture, I exhaled, “I just need to ignore it and it’ll be fine, right?” A charming laugh escaped her lips, she moved her hand in front of it as it grew a bit louder.

“You’re oblivious, it’s painful to see. Do you not see him trying?” She asked between laughs. I scoffed nervously, intertwining my hands together in front of me, I looked askance.

“Trying what? What do you mean?” A small part of me had a hint of what she was saying but I did not want to get my hopes up, I knew him a lot longer than she did, I knew how to read him.

She knew him for a few days, barely, I was better at this, right? Sighing my name, she shook her head. “You have my full support for this, but the others want to see how long it’ll take for you both to come to the realization. I don’t want you to never understand, so I’ll say this: Law clearly likes you, have you not noticed?”

With another nervous laugh, I had a crisped smile. “But does he though? He’s just being nice; he might not look like it but he’s a real kind man.” I continued, making the fruit user exhale once more. She then chuckled and turned around, adding that it’ll take more time than expected then she bid me goodnight.

Left to my own device, I stood by the door a moment, taking in what she had said. Weighting her words in my head, I hardly saw her as someone who’d lie or play with others; But at the same time, I did not know her enough, and I knew how to read Law’s behavior, _or did I?_ Maybe I was too biased now to see anything. Then it would make sense that she saw things differently and he might like me? _No, no_ … Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and exhaled loudly _. I need sleep, I can’t start hoping like that, I had to focus on where we were going and what was at stake. Yes, taking down one of the Seven Warlord of the Sea, it’s not that had. They had a plan, right?_ My brain was starting to overthink as I slid under the blanket of the empty bed in the room. I had barely caught a glimpse of the thief’s form, for she was hidden beneath the blankets, cocooned.

Ironically, it’s when you sought sleep the hardest that it did not come.

I looked at the ceiling of the quarters, minutes after minutes. I was tired, but I could not fall asleep. After some time, I even heard Nami get up and get prepared, maybe even heard a gasp from her when she saw me sleeping in her friend’s bed but she probably understood quick enough.

Once she left, I was alone with my thoughts once more. I heard each and every creak the ship was making. Every step echoing against the wooden floor, under me. Voices talking semi-loudly, things being lifted. The boat in itself was coming alive as everyone awoke to their usual time. But after an hour I was still wide awake. I tried, I tried hard but I was not used to it. I missed the muffling sound of submarine when we’d be underwater. I was used to the sound of steps on the metallic ground, not the wooden one. And the constant pressuring feeling of being underwater, it had been not been so long ago since I was in the submarine and yet I was already missing it. “It’s going to be hard to sleep here. Who would have thought, uh.” I huffed as I threw the blanket off myself and got out of bed, making sure to make it properly before leaving the room.

  
Once I shuffled out of the room, opening the curtains as I did so, I was about to go downstairs when I bumped into something, someone.

“Shit, sorry-“ moving my hands from in front of myself, I looked at the person and made a surprised face. “Law? Why aren’t you asleep?”

He scoffed, “Why aren’t you?” he returned the question, giving me a once over before looking to the side.

“I can’t sleep, I’m not used to being _on_ the water. I usually sleep when we’re moving underwater, so it’s pretty weird, and noisy too.” I explained with a laugh before asking him why _he_ wasn’t asleep.

“I can’t sleep either. Bepo is usually my go to pillow.” He stated, his eyes squinted at the light hitting us on the deck.

Pursing my lips, I made a noise then cleared my throat. “I might not be as comfortable as Bepo but if you need a pillow, I can try my best.” I suggested half-jokingly, hoping that if it was too much, he’d laugh it off. But instead of laughing, he met my gaze and quirked a brow.

“Are you asking me to sleep with you?” He teased; a sly smirk painted on his face.

I grimaced in answer, running my hand on my scalp. I decided to flee the embarrassment, “I was just, suggesting something- But hey, you know what? I’ll just try to go back to sleep, I did sleep well in that room up there, so uh- see you?” I said as I pointed to the crow nest, the moment I use my devil fruit ability to teleport up there, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It startled me but I stayed focused and got us there safely, but not without almost dropping him mid-air. As our feet touched the ground, I quickly faced Law, my brows furrowed.

“A bit of a warning next time would be nice, you scared me!”

“Do you plan on sleeping long?” I was a bit disturbed by his question, the awkward smile on my face definitely portraying so.

“I hope so? I don’t really know, it truly depends on how well of a blanket you are, really.” I replied playfully, giving him a side-look. He rolled his eyes before putting his hand on my shoulder once more,

“Zoro-ya will probably go to the gym once he wakes up, I don’t want to get interrupted. We’ll take the infirmary bed.”

From the tone of his voice, it’s not like I had a choice. Although he had a point, I did not want to be woken up by the sound of weights being lifted from the ground and hitting it every few minutes. It would be quite annoying indeed. Agreeing with my captain, I gave him a curt nod and teleported us back downstairs, and we made our way to the infirmary. As we did so, Law was careful enough to grab the blankets from last night then brought us to the room in question. He did not bother knocking, and simply went inside, startling the young reindeer who was working at his desk. “To-Torao! What- you scared me! Why are you here-“ Law interrupted the doctor, mumbling he needed the bed. I could see he was getting snappy from his lack of sleep so I pushed him aside and gave a wide smile to the blue-nosed reindeer.

“I’m so sorry to disturb you like this, it’s just that we had a long night, watching over Caesar and all- what Law meant to say is: could we borrow your infirmary for a few hours, just enough to get some sleep?” The youngest of the crew was like a deer caught in the spotlight, literally, he also seemed pensive for a moment. When he eyes looked to the side, he quickly looked back at me and chuckled nervously.

“Y-yeah, sure! But don’t- don’t do anything nasty or-or stuff like that! It’s still my room- and I have things to do today!” He tried to hide his nervousness as he slowly stepped away, towards the door but he was clearly feeling strange.

We waited until he left the room before talking. “You were this close to snapping at him. You can’t snap at doctor Chopper, he seems so nice!” I exclaimed, observing Law’s actions. In a few movements, he had taken the mattress of the bed and put it on the floor, throwing the pillows and blankets with it. I looked, intrigued, as he settled everything the way he wanted before taking his hat and coat off.

“It… surprisingly looks cozy. Well done Captain.” The look he gave me almost made me choke, I squeaked his name instead as I joined him on the floor, moving the number of pillows I liked to have it right under my head. Once I was laying comfortably, I heard the click of the light being turned off and then I felt the weight of Law’s body next to me.

“Do you want a pillow? Or is my body enough-“ I gasped when I felt his hand on me, as if he was testing how comfy it’d be. I was grateful for the lights being turned off because my face surely heated up the moment, he touched me.

Without hearing his answer, I put a pillow on my stomach and patted it loudly for him to lay down. “Come on, off you go. Hopefully I’ll be Bepo-worthy.” I breathed out in the darkness.

“Try to get some sleep,” he said my name softly before laying down on the pillow that was set on my stomach. I did not reply right away, instead I had my hands in the air, just barely lifted from myself but still, raised. I did not know where to put them. I would often sleep on the side or with my hands on my stomach or over my eyes but I couldn’t do that right now. As I was about to force myself to just have them at my side, instead the usual position I’d sleep in, Law’s voice reached my ears, his soothing voice saying my name. “Just put your hands down please, you’re stressing me out.”

“Well, with your stupidly nice face on me, I don’t know where to put my hands, ok?” I hissed/whispered back, his hand suddenly grabbed mine and shuffled on his spot; He moved so that he was now on his stomach, face in the pillow as he spoke, a bit unclearly.

“Put it on my back, I don’t care. But please, sleep.” He whispered. At this very moment I found out I did not mind it at all when he spoke softly like that, dare I say I found it quite endearing. But I did not mention it. I placed my hand on his back and closed my eyes, sighing.

“’m sorry, good night Law.” He mumbled something in return, but all I could hear was the weird way he said my name into the pillow.

Soon enough, we both drifted to sleep. I hardly had time to focus on the noises around me, too enthralled by the breathing that was happening _on_ me. But it helped, once I focused on his breathing, I was quick to join the land of dreams. However, during my little time of sleep, I was woken up by some thrashing coming from Law. His legs twitching, sometimes kicking as one of his hand gripped his pillow tighter, while the other was under the pillow and over my waist, his fingers gripping at nothing.

Hesitantly, I touched his back gently and grabbed his hand, calling out his name in the softest way I could. “Hey… Law? Hey, you’re alright. You’re good, we’re in the Sunny, with the Straw Hats. Law, are you okay?” Soon after, he stopped trashing and calmed down, his expression a lot softer than a minute ago. Without an answer, I sighed tiredly and pulled the blanket over his shivering form, rubbing his back as I fell back asleep. The rest was of the night went on without a hitch.

Not that I’d ever admit it, but it was probably one of the best naps, or night during the day, I have ever had. It was comfortable to have that weight on my body, it was very different from the pressure of the submarine but I found it comforting nonetheless.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. And our end was the loud sound of the door to the infirmary being slammed open, startling me awake. I cursed under my breath as I tried to focus on the blinding light that was coming from the entrance.

“Chopper needs his infirmary!“

“Nami, Nami! I said it could wait a few more hours- let them sleep, they clearly both need it, have you seen how tired they look-“ his face turned bright red as his mouth opened, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

Only half awake, I blinked a few more times to see the people in front of me more clearly. “Give us a minute, we’ll come out- just a few more minutes.” I think I slurred. I knew it wasn’t articulate, but I also knew I tried my best to speak as clear as I could. The famous thief sighed loudly, mumbling something about being two idiots, lovebirds and better not be doing weird shit in there. Chopper, right next to her, was still in shock and seemed to be stuttering as he said he did not mind if we stayed a bit more, he’ll come back later.

When they left, closing the door behind, I slumped back on the pillow and sighed, almost choking when I felt a breeze on my stomach. Trying to see the shape in the darkness, and with a bit of time, I understood why Chopper was surprised. Law’s face was no more on the pillow I had set on my stomach, but was just resting on my bare stomach. My shirt having risen during the night, his warm breath was tickling my skin at each exhale. My heartbeat suddenly sped up and I hesitantly put my hand on his hair to push him away, but he spoke at that very moment.

“I dare you to do that.”

I stopped right away, scoffing. “I thought you were asleep. Did you hear what they said? We have to get out.” I whispered back, not moving my hand from his hair. He huffed a laugh, making my skin tingle. I don’t know if I hated or loved the feeling of his jaw moving against my stomach, but it was something.

“Tony-ya said he’d come back in a few hours. We still have time.” His fingers graze against my waist, and I jerked at the sudden touch. “Unless you want to go, it’s fine by me.” He breathed. In my mind, things were going all over. I did not know what to do, should I leave and just end this right there? Whatever this is? I mean, he probably just moved during his sleep, he did not do that willingly, _I think_. Or maybe I should stay? Enjoy the only time this’ll ever happen and just act casual. How could I act casual when I could feel his rough beard grazing my skin every time he spoke? _Fuck_.

Taking a deep breath, I let go of his hair and placed my hand back on his back. “I’ll stay, it’s fine. I was sleeping well, I think I’d like to do that some more, yeah…” I trailed off, closing my eyes but still not fully relaxed. If I did not know better, I’d say the man on me was snuggling up but I think he was just getting more comfortable. “Good, because I was also sleeping soundly until that thief came crashing in,” he mumbled before continuing, “They always have to be so loud, it gets on my nerves.” He muttered.

I chuckled and rubbed is back as I said, “You can’t complain, you chose them as your allies. Plus, they’re loud but they seem nice. I think it’s a good choice, you could have chosen someone like- Eustass Kid or someone like that, that would have been _something_.” At this point I was fully awake, but I could see the time it took for Law to answer, he was slowly falling back asleep.

“Never. Redhaired idiot, too much.” Ah, he was past the point of making sentences.

“Sleep, please.” He added as his final word, gently pressing a kiss on my skin.

_Wait- what_? I covered my mouth in surprise, looking down where he was, for what I could see in the darkness at least. Maybe, _maybe_ Robin was right? Or did he do it just, out of habit or something? _I don’t think he kisses Bepo_ , my own thought made me laugh but I quickly shook that thought off. Bringing my hand to his back once more, I slowly slid it to his hair, brushing my thumb through it. _What is he doing to me?_ I thought as I closed my eyes and slowly faded back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am weak for the sharing a bed trope. But I'll balance all the sweetness in next chapter, with a bit of angst. Or else, where's the fun? Am I right? 
> 
> Words : 3341  
> Added on 19th January 2020


	4. Chapter 4

_“… some point you’ll have to kick them out of here Chopper, you can’t just let them-“_

_“But Torao is scary!! And I am sure all of his crewmates are just as scary, no way- nope, I don’t want to die Robin. You do it! Yeah… Imma head out, okay?”_ Then echoed the muffled sound of hooves hitting the wooden parquet, slowly at first then scurried. Then there was a heavy sigh followed by a short laugh, quickly after, hands pulled off the blanket from my form, and Law’s along with it. I gasped at the cold air hitting my face and took a bit of time to understand that I had been covered up to my head with the blanket.

“Time to wake up, I think Chopper is getting impatient and he needs his infirmary.” The gentle voice of the long-haired fruit user reached my ear and I slowly opened my eye, ready to answer when I felt the hold on myself tighten.

“He can come by in 10 mins, we’ll be out by then Robin-ya.” Satisfied by Law’s answer, she hummed, maybe too happily then gave us one last glance before leaving and closing the door behind her. When she was out of sight, Law groaned loudly before running his hand over his face. I stood there, in a position completely different from when I had gone to sleep. Instead of him on me, I was the one on him, at least my head was resting very close to his side and I had one leg throw over his. I was pretty quick to change that and sat up rapidly.

“Sorry, I got a bit too comfortable there.” A short laugh escaped his lips, I looked at him tiredly, but curiously too. His hair was a mess, more than usual but it looked good. I let my eyes wander about his form, I was only now realizing that he had some lighter spot on his skin.

I remembered from his past that as a child he had gone through a lot, and if my memory wasn’t bad it was due to that that his skin had some discoloration. A sigh reached my ear, I looked away as the man put his coat on to cover the small amount of skin I could see. “I wasn’t complaining, but Robin-ya is right, we should go.” _What was he not complaining about_? I squinted my eyes, thinking, it made him laugh since he stood up and simply said, “You, sleeping.”

My mouth shape in an O, I snorted and shook my head, “It wasn’t half-bad. I’ll admit, you are a great source of heat, I’ll give you a nine out of ten,” I hummed as I stood up and brought everything back on the infirmary bed, Law was standing by the door, unmoving.

“Nine?” He asked.

“Well, I would give you a ten if not-“ His face turned sour, and his gaze turned to the ground. I don’t know what he expected me to say, but I continued, hoping to lighten his mood. “If not for the heat, it’s great, don’t get me wrong but it’s very, very hot, like a furnace. I’m sure you don’t even need blankets usually.” His expression changed to something close to relief as a small smile drew itself on his lips, but only for a short time.

“And _you_ move a lot, yet you don’t hear me complaining, do you?”

“Hey, I’m just giving feedback here pal, I know I could never be as great as Bepo in term of pillow-quality.” I said with my hands raised in defense, but I was joking.

A snort blew threw his nose and he opened the door, signaling me to follow him out of the infirmary. I kind of liked it when I made him laugh, I’m sure he found a lot of things funny, but having him show it was something that brought me great joy. He was kind of cute like that. I didn’t have time to reflect or daydream that Chopper came in rushing.

“Did you do anything? Did you- is everything still in place? You better not have broken anything or I’ll-“

I frowned in confusion, how would we have done that? We were sleeping, what was he thinking we had done? The reindeer stopped mid-sentence when he met Law’s gaze and apologized before scurrying off to his room. His panic was appeased when he saw that everything was exactly as he left them. Except perhaps for the bed, that was a bit messy. I never was great to make it proper looking, I never knew how military people did it so well… Or perhaps I was too lazy.

“Does your infirmary often get,” I made a gesture with my hand, meaning messy, chaotic.

The Doctor shrugged, “Sometimes, they’re not fans of needles but- I meant, you and Law you… Nami said-“

“What she says is never to be trusted. She likes the chaos.” Law said over my shoulder, I thought he’d have left but he was probably curious as of why the reindeer was in utter frenzy when he came rushing in.

“We just slept together though, so what could-“ I stopped talking when the words left my mouth. Some things made more sense when said out loud, but that never meant they were better said out loud either. Like saying you slept with your captain. It sounded wrong.

I threw a glance at my grumpy captain, my cheeks heating up. I said in realization, “ _Slept together_.” Then huffed, “She- I swear to fuck, this crew is-“

“What do you mean?” he asked, still confused. I didn’t know if he was playing with me or if he was genuinely at loss.

So, I exhaled half-nervously half-tiredly, “She’s saying we fucked. Like, slept together in _that_ sense of the term.” A glimmer of understanding struck his face and for a brief moment, he seemed flustered. But I could have been wrong, I did not have time to question him more that he shook his head.

“I can’t even believe everyone believes that, we weren’t even noisy or anything. It doesn’t make sense-“ A smug smile drew itself on my captain’s face.

“Does that mean you’re usually loud when you-”

“Both of you!! Out! It’s gross, you’re gross! I’ll tell Zoro you’re being weird!” Chopper said as he pushed me out of the doorway before slamming the door.

I took it as an opportunity to ignore what Law had said, I don’t know why he said that but I was not going to have a conversation about that either. I decided to play it casual. We were still a few days from Dressrosa, which meant we had some time left to polish the plan until we arrived. It seemed the Straw Hat had no ability to focus on Law’s words, they did not seem to care much about the plan either. It annoyed my Captain to no extent; I could see it was getting on his nerves and eventually he blew up and yelled at them.

It was a rare sight to see the Surgeon of Death lose his composure, the only time he would be anything but laid-back would be when he’d be taunting his enemies. Seeing him angry was very new and I was finding it to be an enjoyable sight. Perhaps it was because it made him more humane, or perhaps I just liked seeing his face contorted with something other than boredom. When he would lose his temper and just vent on the poor Straw Hat Captain, I would nudge his side and look at the map laid out on the deck, to silently tell him to continue. Sometimes it’d work, but most of the time he’d let it all out and the only response he’d get was a laugh from Luffy.

I found myself enjoying the Straw Hat crew more than I expected, along the three people from Wano that boarded the ship. They were a rowdy bunch, for sure, and I would sometimes sneak off to find some quiet in random rooms of the ship, but on the whole they were great company with great stories to tell. It was interesting to hear their adventure, it made me realize we did not follow the same roads on the sea but it was just as perilous as our voyage.

A few hours before arriving at Dressrosa, the plan was to call Joker, to tell him we had his partner, Caesar. The whole thing went down as you’d expect, the Straw Hats were not serious, Luffy was easily tempted with simple things. It forced Law to be on the call with Joker, he was filled with hatred, I could hear it in his voice and it sent chills running down my spine. Those chills persisted at the answers from Joker, he seemed to be relaxed on the other hand and yet his tone was serious and threatening. When Law hung up, he reminded everyone that giving them Caesar was but a distraction.

The more we talked about what we should do once we arrive, the more I felt things would not go according to the plan. We knew full well this entire crew was made of free-spirited people, and while most of them knew how to follow orders, they would prioritize following their Captain no matter the circumstances. And he had close to no impulse control, which meant if you lost track of him it would be too late, things would go awry. Or as I liked to put it, from what I gathered, “Where Luffy goes, fuckery follows.”

That was what frightened Law the most. He did not use those words exactly, he’d said “If he sneaks out of our sight, we’re screwed.” But the idea was there. I could not reassure him, and deep down we both knew everything _will_ go shit, but I trusted Law, I knew he’d come up with something. He was smart and was able to come up with a plan in the heat of the moment, which saved us numerous times in our own adventure. Hence why I said, a few hours before we arrived on the island, that I’d say by his side, it’s not like I had chemistry with the other of the crew. Nor was I used to their fighting style.

But the answer was not one I had expected.

“You’re not coming. You’re not stepping off of this ship.” He said off-handedly.

We were in the corridor on our way to the library for some relaxing time, away from all the noise. He did not stop when I did, so I gripped his arm tightly. He grunted and turned around, giving me a pissed-off look.

I held my head high and spoke clearly, “Bold of you to assume I’d listen to that shitty command.” He held my gaze, I hated the way he was looking at me. I did not deserve such angry look from him, I was not known for taking pointless orders and his made no sense.

“You’re only here because it was too late for you to go to Zo.” He explained, pulling his arm away from my grasp.

“And since I’m here, I’m coming to fight. The more the merrier, right-“

He interrupted me with another frustrated sigh, his low voice reaching my ears, “I’ve given you an order, as your Captain-“

“As my Captain, what? I’m not one to just throw hands at nothing, but this makes no sense. You know full well I can be useful on the battlefield, as a member of your crew, you should trust me.”

He turned around and said, “My crew is smart enough to follow my order, if you’re not planning on doing that, then leave.”

What he said did not sit right with me, I don’t know why he said that but it hurt. I don’t know why I let it get to me, nor did I know why I reacted like that but as he walked away, I hurried to meet his pace and pushed his back with all my force.

He stumbled forward, catching himself with his hand on the wall. He grunted my name in a warning tone, as he turned around.

“That shit fucking hurts Law, take it the fuck back.” I said with as much calm I could muster.

There was like a knot in my throat, my chest was tight and I could feel my body getting warm and yet I shuddered when he looked at me with this look. This look that meant he was not going to take it back, that he meant what he said, that I was acting stupid. I stared back at him then smiled. My head dipped forward as I tried my best to calm down.

“Alright. So, if I step out of this ship, I’m not part of the crew anymore?” His expression did not falter. He did not move.

“Why don’t you want me on this? What-“ I paused and swallowed, feeling my throat tighten once more but I acted cool. “What can, I don’t know, a child that has no control over his devil fruit, bring more than I can? Uh?” He gritted his teeth and look to the side, not answering. I thought he respected my power, I thought it was enough. I already felt off joining their crew so late, but having him lose all trust in me the moment the rest of the team was not there, made my heart clench.

“Let’s start over, because you’re not an asshole, right?” I chuckled lowly and joined his side once more, ignoring the chilly feeling I felt next to him.

I reiterated my sentence, “ _That’s why I’ll stay close by, ready for your new plan_.” I casted a glance at my Captain and he seemed annoyed, his eyes focused in front of him as his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. He muttered my name once more, it seemed to be said in a more tender manner than earlier but then I met his gaze, he was even more annoyed.

“When your Captain gives you an order, you follow it. If you don’t want to follow my order, you can serve under someone else.”

“Serve under someone else. _Serve under someone else._ ” I repeated his words in pure bafflement, how could he say that? How could he tell me that I could leave, as if it was just some sort of side hustle?

“This is not some sort of deal, I joined your crew because you were the ones that welcomed me-“ I pushed his chest firmly, once. “As a family,” again. “It’s not about serving anyone, it’s just-“ this time I hit my fist against his chest, he was not moving. “It’s a fucking adventure!-“

“This is not a kid’s game, it’s a life-threatening situation. And if you can’t understand that we’re pirates, not adventurers, then-“ I pushed him more strongly this time.

“I get it. Fuck you. I never saw this as a kid’s game, for someone who’s smart you can’t seem to grasp what I’m saying and it’s exhausting.” I think I heard him mumbled something, but he acted like he hadn’t said anything.

“I’ll spell it out more clearly,” Taking a deep breath, I stared at the ground a moment then met his gaze, “You’re a fucking asshole for asking me to either follow your orders blindly or leave the crew, knowing full well I loved this crew like my family- but you know what? Maybe I was stupid and it was all pretend, was it?” _Tell me no. Tell me we were all a big family, tell me I was enough. Tell me I fight good, and that you want me on this mission, tell me… tell me you love me…_ I was desperate.

He looked away. This was more sombre than I thought it’d be but I understood.

“Right. Right, well.” I nodded.

It could mean a lot of things to just look away. But what I gathered was that being honest with me was too much to ask for. “We’ll be arriving soon. I’ll go get ready to join on the mission.” I moved away from him when he turned to face me with a shocked expression, saying my name in surprise.

“What? Did you think I’d just stay here? Because of your shitty ultimatum?” I asked with an exhausted smile. He did not reply, only staring. He was in genuine shock, not that it showed too much on his face, but I could see it was agape.

Without an answer from him, I shrugged and made my way to the deck. Inside my head were so many thoughts. I was convinced he had a reason to do that, but he gave me an ultimatum I could not fathom. And while this new-found family was great, inside I was thinking that if I was on the battlefield, I could watch over him. If not as a crewmember, then as an ally at least. Never would I have stayed on this ship, but never would I have thought he’d give me such dilemma. Now I was a simple pirate, on a ship on my way to a fight that was not even mine, but I knew Law was about to get reckless, I just knew it. He was too involved in this situation, his pride is at stake, Cora’s pride was at stake. But maybe, at some point, his life will be at stake too, and I will be there to avoid such things.

I wanted to find a dark room and cry. Even after that shitty ultimatum, I felt a pull. I wanted to stay with him, I still liked him, just because of that I took the only option that allowed me to watch over him.

“How fucking stupid is that.” I mumbled dryly to myself.

“What is?” The cook’s voice echoed right next to me. Without realizing it, I had made my way to the kitchen. Startled, I let out a soundless gasp and moved out of the way, telling him it was nothing.

“It’s not nothing, you look like you’re about to cry.”

“ _But I’m not_ , stop insisting.”

He hummed and puffed out some smoke before suggesting me a nice warm meal; which I did not refuse.

Making my way to the table, I watched him wander about the kitchen as he cooked. It did not take him long to make something that could even warm up the Marine’s hearts. When I took a bite, I felt my chest lighten as I ate up, the cook was observing me with a small smile. I did not pay attention as I gobbled it down, switching with water from time to time to avoid choking.

When I was done, he asked me once more what was troubling my mind. This time I chuckled dryly and shrugged, “I got kicked out of my crew, I guess?” He quirked a brow and asked for details, so I summarized it to something short, “Me wants to fight, Captain says no. I ask why not? He says, orders you stay on ship, you shouldn’t even be here in the first place. I say, but there’s a kid taken in consideration in the whole plan, you know?”

Sanji nodded, telling me to continue.

There was a small smile on his lips that ticked me off, I don’t know what was fun about this situation but I continued. “Then he basically said, that if I left the ship, I could leave the crew because I couldn’t follow orders.”

Crushing his cigarette in the ashtray, the blond man hummed and leaned on his fist. “Did he say it like that?”

Shaking my head, I quoted both times he told me off and what followed. It still hurt to think about it, but I’m sure it’d fade soon. Maybe the Straw Hats would want me? Maybe I could join their crew. Looking at the man across from me, I saw the widening smile on his lips as he lit up another cigarette.

“And you’re asking me what I think-“

“No, I didn’t ask you anything, but you’re curious so go off.”

His eyes widened before continuing, “I think once this is all over and you’re both safe and sound, you should ask him again if you’re really kicked out of the crew-“

“I’m not doing that, he said what he said.” I spat, still hurt.

Taping a finger on his chest, the cook added, “Or maybe, _what he didn’t say_.” I made a face at the blonde’s words, confused by his cryptic words. “There’s a lot he didn’t _exactly_ say, so think what you will. But Robin-chan is right, you’re both idiots for sure.” He shrugged before rolling his sleeves once more and saying he’d have to prepare one last meal before we go fight. I stayed in the dining room, lost in thoughts while Sanji moved gracefully across the floor, I did not know his past or anything at all about the man except his famous reputation of fighting with only his legs; And yet from his movements I could tell he was very familiar with kitchens, in a professional way. Not all ships had the luck of having a real, good, cook aboard but theirs was almost god-sent.

While daydreaming, my gaze lost in the direction of the blond, I was repeating Law’s words in my head. I tried to tell myself to stop and come up with a reasonable explanation, one was that he actually cared and wanted me safe but it sounded stupid. He was not emotional enough to be like that, and even if he did, he would have told me straight up. I pressed my palms to my cheeks and scolded myself, _focus, focus, forget what he said, you don’t have time to overthink. Stay focus and everything will be fine, you’re still friends so it’s good. Yeah, mm, yep friends_.

“Sanji! I’m hungry!! Oh-“ I stood up when I heard Luffy’s voice enter the dining room, and he stared at me with his big wide eyes in awe. Then turned towards Sanji and tried to snatch something, anything, from the burning pan, only to have his hand slapped away. Many times.

“Hey, you should check up on your Captain, he looks even more stuck up than usual.” A short snort blew through my nose at the swordsman’s words. It looks like they were all arriving to eat whatever the cook was making.

“Well, have you seen his sword nearby? Maybe it’s up his ass?” I asked jokingly, patting his shoulder as I walked past him. A throaty laugh escaped his lips, he did not reply.

I was tempted to not check up on him, out of pure spite. But I thought, _no you’re mature, let’s see what’s up with him_ , and I did. He was sitting on the stairs on the deck, his sword between his legs, hands on the handle and forehead resting against the hands.

“Law. What’s going on with you?” He lifted his head, a red mark on his forehead from pressing it against his hands.

“Nothing.” He replied before turning his gaze away from me.

It sent something coursing through my vein, I wanted to react just like I did before and push him down, asking him to look at me instead of avoiding my gaze.

“Alright, you don’t want to talk. Do you need company then?” Yeah, that’s a good question, a good reply, polite and all that.

“No, you can go.”

I scoffed, “Cute, earlier it’s ‘ _don’t you dare leave this ship_ ’ and now it’s ‘ _you can go_ ’,” I started, moving closer to him to crouch in front of him to get of glimpse of his eyes, “But funny enough, you’re not looking at me while saying any of those things.” I regretted saying all those things the moment they left my mouth, but I was bitter, I was still angry and hurt by his words. Now I was acting without thinking.

“Don’t.” He said in a warning tone, still looking away from me.

Nodding, I stood up once more, “Got it. Then at least act like you’re fine, the Straw Hats are worried.” I explained.

The next words that I heard shook me, “Are you?” he breathed, finally meeting my eyes.

There was fear, determination, finality in his gaze. I hated it. It’s as if he was going to take Doflamingo down, no matter the cost, even if the price was his own life.

“To be honest, I am mortified,” I confessed, trying to look as composed as I could. “But even though you’re a bitch, I’m not letting you go out there alone. From what you’re telling me, you’re ready to go down with Doflamingo-“

“If it’s what needs to be done I don’t care-“ Telling him to shut up, I continued,

“But _I_ care! I told everyone I’d watch over your ass, and I’m going to.” I said a bit too quickly, gripping the handle of his sword tightly before pulling it from his hands and crouching in front of him, frowning.

“I don’t care that you’re ready to sacrifice yourself, because I’ll be there to stop it.” He was surprised for a second, then his brows were furrowed once more. I wanted to go back to our ship where everything was easier, but I knew this was only the beginning of something greater.

He sighed, “You better not mess with the plan-“

“Oh, I’m sorry, is this some sort of command? Because you made it very clear that I was not good enough for your crew.” I said with a spiteful grin, it earned me another baffled look from Law that changed back just as fast,

“I didn’t say-“

I interrupted him, “Cora’s will is important, but I find your life a bit more important. I’m sure you’ll excuse me for that.”

We stared at each other for a moment, battling one another without word. I was trying to understand him, why he was acting so off but just staring at him would not help. If anything, it made the pull I felt towards him only stronger.

“It’s dangerous.” He stated, I could almost describe it as a desperate attempt to keep me here but I could not be sure.

“Hence why I’m coming with you.” I stood up and handed him his sword back, “You’ll need this,” I said, he grabbed my wrist and I stopped dead in my track, confused. He kept surprising me today, from being a complete asshole to a seemingly nice guy when he said, “Be careful.” Then people joined us on the deck and his demeanor changed completely, he let go of my hand and was back to the leader-like attitude as he repeated the plan to everyone.

Once again, their focus was nowhere close to be on Law but was probably back in the kitchen from their recent feast the cook made. Some people were going to stay on the ship, others were told to go by teams in different places across the ‘country’. I was to stay near Luffy for when everything would go down, maybe to evacuate civilians that were in Luffy’s radius. I was told he made quite the damaged during fights, even more so since he trained with a man named Rayleigh.

“I don’t have a bounty; Do I need to disguise myself?” I asked, giving them a once-over and holding back from laughing at Law who had a fake mustache but still had his familiar coat and sword. Chuckling, Robin handed me a cap, that I put on reluctantly, making sure my hair was out of the way.

“It looks good on you, don’t worry!” She said enthusiastically.

“I’m sure I could even rock the mustache, got any spare one?” I said jokingly. People laughed and gathered by the side off the ship as Nami moored the ship on the shore. We were as well hidden as we could with such a big ship, but I’m sure our submarine would have been a lot more efficient if stealth was the key. The Straw Hat captain, however, could not begin to understand the idea of discretion and jumped off the ship, yelling that they had arrived. It’s with difficulty that we quieted him down, and as Law reiterated them to be discrete and calm down, Luffy ignored him completely and took off.

Observing everyone carefully, I saw Law approach Nami and hand her part of Bepo’s vivre card, telling her its use. It made everyone panic, asking what could go wrong, the black-haired man only shrugged in response telling them “Who knows.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanji soft tender boy, he's here for heartache and fix that broken heart with noodled and resin.  
> ....  
> .... Yeah I said that, fight me? I thought I'd add a bit of angst from our babies who can't communicate for shit :) Because God forbid they'd tell each other they care oop-  
> But don't worry, it's just the beginning of the angst! I'm almost done with this short story, there are a few more chapters incoming but do tell me if you want to see more of it, if you enjoy it and all that. I thrive on love.
> 
> Added on 21st January 2021  
> Words : 4801


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mention of blood, character death (believes it but ya know), bullets, bullet wounds, bloody arms,
> 
> That's about it, what comes with Dressrosa, am I right? Haaha... mm

Considering I was responsible for Luffy, when I saw him take off with everyone else after the plan was detailed on the shore, I had to take off with him too. I had to use my power more than I thought I would with how fast he was, but managed to keep up. When we reached a restaurant, I stayed out of the way even more so when they annoyed the man I knew was from the Marine, they did not seem aware of who they had angered but I was not going to stress them out and ignored it.

However, when Zoro started running after some stolen good, I couldn’t stay out of it and had to catch up before he got lost. He was one of the strongest of the team and would do great damage in time but I did not know what to do. Stay by Luffy and make sure he’d follow the plan or follow Zoro?

By the time I made my decision and turned towards where Luffy was, he was nowhere to be found. “Fuck. Ten seconds of inattention and I’ve already lost him.” I looked around, desperately trying to see where they had gone. I did not even have a map of the place, the only one I had seen was Bepo’s badly done one that Law showed us on the ship. Even if the map was ‘good’ in theory, my memory wasn’t. Sighing, I walked out of the restaurant, making sure to pay for what had be consumed by the loud pirates and samurais. “There better be gold at the end of this stupid suicidal-mission because they cost more than they’re worth.” I mumbled to myself as I walked down the streets, dolls, puppets, and plushies were walking the same street I was.

Those usually inanimate objects made a huge part of the population, it was a strange sight but there was probably something grimmer behind all of this. Their eyes looked almost… human. A shudder ran down my spine, I had to pride my eyes away from them to avoid being suspicious. “It looks like a huge amusement park, there should be a map somewhere, right?” I stopped by some sort of souvenir shop and asked if they had maps, the seller stared at me in awe, then back at something under the counter. When he looked back at me, he smiled and nodded, handing me the map.

I was going to take it when his wooden hand gripped mine and brought me down closer to him, “It’s you! The King- I heard that the King wants to see you but…” He trailed off, his eyes gazing around in panic.

“Who’s the King? How does he know who I am?” I asked, snatching the map from his hand.

“King Joker, but it’s only a rumor… he says whoever finds you has to bring you to him, there’s bounty on your head,” then out of nowhere a knife was pulled from under the counter and planted in my arm, I grabbed the man/doll by the arm and threw him across the room before running out of the shop, the knife hit the ground and I scrambled to get it as I made my escape.

I made a short detour to run by a stand outside and grabbed a black drape to cover my head better than the cap Robin had given me. I thought I was the only one of the whole crew who wasn’t known, but for some reason Joker wanted something with me. But I was not going to let him catch me. For a second I thought, _maybe Law was right and I should have stayed on the ship_ , then I got back to my senses and ignored that thought.

I was teleporting from places to places, to get off those streets and was now on the rooftop of a high building. “Right, maybe I overreacted. Maybe I could have just walked out of the shop, and play it off…” I pondered out loud, “But I didn’t, it’s alright though, I’ve got the map, I have-“ I looked at my right arm and saw the blood trickling down the stab wound that turned partially into a cut as I had pulled back from the puppet.

“And I have a stab wound, nice. I’ll just,” using the drape, I cut a part of it with the knife and wrapped it tightly around the wound. I was no doctor, maybe it was a bad thing to do but I did not care. At least blood wasn’t dripping on the ground anymore, which means they couldn’t follow me.

The building was not a high enough vantage point, so I opened the map and looked at it; Green Bits was across a long bridge that I could see from where I was, but it was very far away. Tucking the map away, I sighed and started making my way to the bridge. I had to pause every time to recharge, I was expecting to use my power a lot more than I used to but not for such things. I thought I’d be helping people out not running around like an idiot, but things never went as expected. I couldn’t begin to imagine Law’s face when I’d tell him I lost Luffy. He’d probably beat my ass _then_ beat his, but, all in due time.

I had this strange feeling in my guts at each of my jump. The closer I was getting to the bridge, the heavier the air seemed to be. The fact of the matter was that if anything was happening there, I couldn’t be of much help considering the lack of items around me. I had not taken any weapon with me, except the knife the seller had used one me. It wasn’t the sharpest but it would do the damage. The plan was to trade off Caesar to the Marines at Green Bits but anything could wrong from there one. If I knew something from experience it was to never trust Marines nor pirates, all were crooked and while one of them claimed to be working for the government, the latter was corrupted to the core. I had yet to come across a truthful Marine.

Except that one guy that helped Law when he was younger, but once again… he was a spy among the pirates and I don’t know how I felt about that. I don’t know how I’d feel if one of my crewmates was actually a Marine. Maybe thinking the Marine would enroll a spy was giving our crew too much credits, we weren’t war criminals or anything… _I think_ …

I was brought back to reality when I heard a loud crash. Looking ahead of me, I saw the bars on each side of the bridge get cut off, then four big animals jump of the water to loom over the two miniscule forms on the ground.

I hurried, recognizing Law’s fighting, he wasn’t meant to turn it into a fight just yet. He wasn’t meant to fight with Joker just yet, the plan wasn’t going as expected and I could see it from the desperate attempt to keep the Warlord at bay. Once I was close enough, I managed to get out of the large cut the blonde made, the fishes were cut in pieces and fell into the water with a loud plop. I looked from afar, needing the gauge if I could help, _if help was even needed_.

Law was running head on onto the man in front of him, he wasn’t thinking straight, he wasn’t running he was _rushing_. The grin on the Warlord’s face did not put me at ease, and soon enough he blocked Law’s attack. A huge explosion ensued, I was left speechless, staring at where my Captain used to be. For second my stomach did a flip at the thought of him dead, then I saw him running away from the rubble and sighed in relief. He must have seen me since his eyes widened and he screamed my name, telling me to get out of here. I yelled back, telling him I’d teleport him but he told me to go, now.

“What’s the matter Law, I thought you wanted to kill me?” Said the Joker. It made Law pause, and so did I, I watched. I observed how it’d end up, although I believed in Law, I could still very much notice he was at the limit of his capacity. He was out of breath, exhausted and clearly unable to continue. And yet he did, he tried to attack the blonde with the metal debris, only for him to slash them in pieces. I was going to sneakily grab him and get him away when he desperately went for another strike, I could see the bubble around him grow as he summoned his power.

I was just as surprised as the Warlord, I did not know how he could continue to go past his limits over and over again, but I could easily tell it wasn’t good. He exchanged places of Joker with a huge piece of metal and struck down with his sword, but once again he was blocked by the strings.

Grinning, the tall blonde man sneered, noticing that Law’s power was at its limit. I was surprised to hear he had faced a lot in the little time we were apart, a meteorite from one of the marine, rescued Sanji when they fought the first time? What was going here, how long had he been fighting? I couldn’t think more, they kept exchanging hits, only in vain. Law’s attacks were all blocked, and when he was catching his breath, the maniac shot him down with string bullets which sounded ridiculous but that thought only lasted half a second before I saw my Captain on the ground.

“Law! Let me-“ I cried out, but he raised his fist.

“Get out! Leave, it’s not safe!” My heart clenched at his attempt of fighting back once again, he tried to summon Room but it didn’t work, I looked away, fearing the worst but a phone rang. I turned around and look as Joker picked up his den den mushi and talked casually on the phone. There was another attempt from Law but he got taken down just as easily as before. When the call was done, he strutted towards Law, his walk more threatening than his outfit.

He started explained how annoyed he was with this little plan of ours and mentioned that if he didn’t trust the Straw Hat, perhaps as friends even but that was left unsaid, then he couldn’t have planned something this big. When he mentioned me, I was startled and looked at him in shock, he was staring right back at me but Law ignored it and said he trusted the will of D. That was the words too many, Joker turned into a full berserk mode and raised his fist and was about to strike down Law.

Seeing his state, I didn’t think, I reacted out of instinct and teleported closer to finally reach the blonde’s man back and try to hold his arm. He laughed manically and made cuts on my skin, making me let go of his arm but I was still holding tight onto him. It hurt a lot, but the adrenaline made me ignore it for now as I gripped his other shoulder tight.

“Let him go! You fucking psychopath, you’re not fit for a King, you’re not fit for a Leader- You’re barely a man as it is!!” I rambled as I grabbed the knife from my back and was about to shove it in his throat when he laughed some more in response and took if away from my hand forcefully. I say forcefully but it scared me, the ease with which he used his power to open my hand.

“You talk too much, I should finish you just like I’m about to finish him.” He raised his arm once more, but this time made sure I couldn’t move mine.

He did not hesitate a second more and started hitting Law over and over again, blood spurting around, grunts of pain following each strike. I wanted to throw up from the sight but did not let go of the Warlord. I couldn’t teleport away; I was gripping him tightly but if I let go there was no chance to find Law again. “You’re insistent, can’t you see he’s already dead?” Joker spat as he kicked Law into the air and followed the strings to get closer and closer, kicking my Captain further away at each kick.

“Fuck off, I don’t care if I have to strangle you myself-“ His laugh interrupted me, but it quickly turned into the deadliest expression. I couldn’t see it full well from my place on his back but he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Guess I’ll kill you both, the traitor’s bastard _and_ you.” He scoffed and gripped one of my wounded arms, lifting me off his back with ease before slamming me into the ground. I let out a painful groan and swore the best I could, this was not ending here.

The air got knocked out of my lungs, I had a hard time breathing but I tried hard to roll onto my stomach to look at the still ongoing fight.

The Warlord was stepping closer to Law’s body that was lying on the ground, motionless. The ground under him was crushed, I couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. Slowly, Joker raised a gun and aimed it at Law.

A screech ripped out of my throat, I tried to teleport closer to him but I couldn’t. For some reason I couldn’t, I was fucking helpless. “Don’t! He’s-“ I coughed some dryness, maybe even blood, and placed my hands on the ground to steady myself. The Marine was there, I couldn’t stay here, but I couldn’t leave him there either. The so called ‘King’ ignored my attempt and cocked the gun. I could hear Luffy’s voice somewhere, he did not know what was happening but he tried hard to get any sort of information.

“You’ve pushed it too far, kid.” Joker said as he aimed the gun well, before shooting one bullet. My breath hitched inside my throat, then I cried out Law’s name in utter horror. He couldn’t be dead, right? One bullet was alright, the King doesn’t look like he’s a good shot- _but two other gunshots rang_. I looked at the scene in horror before collapsing on the floor, my arms too weak to carry my weight anymore. I covered my mouth to muffled the sound of my sobbing but couldn’t tear away from the scene displaying in front of me. “Law…” I gasped, pushing myself up to go up to him. “Don’t … die” my voice was weak; I could barely hear it.

He couldn’t hear it either, people were talking, arguing. A Marine stepped up in front of Doflamingo and was about to strike down Law when Zoro stopped it with his sword. I was silently thanking him with all my heart. After managing to stand up, I tried to take a step but fell to my knees. _How hard have I been slammed into the ground? I’ve taken worse beatings, now is not the moment to be fragile_. I scolded myself, pushing way over my limits and getting up once more. This time I was able to take a few steps but had to hold onto a nearby wall when the Admiral used his power and the pressure was back. I looked around; I couldn’t see Law on the floor anymore.

My heart was already beating fast in my chest, I felt it hammer against my ribs, I was exhausted from so little and scared, scared for Law’s life and mine too. Perhaps Law’s more than mine. I heard Doflamingo’s voice in the air and saw him floating, thanks to his strings, along the Admiral. The King was carrying Law like a grocery bag, I wanted to get up there and beat him up but I had no energy. I felt pure hatred towards the man, and except for being the worst kind of scum all he did was beat up my Captain... for now. I hated being so emotional and tried to force myself to calm down, but my hands were shaking.

I think the blonde said something that must have angered the Marines or maybe were they working together? Whichever it was, they started shooting at Zoro and Kin’emon; I was going to sneak away and hide when one of the civilians grabbed me by the arms and lifted me off the ground, “It’s the one!! It’s _exactly_ like the picture- The king said we should-“ I mustered all my strength and got rid of them before teleporting myself to the roof on top of them, I barely made it through and was hanging on the edge. I had to bring myself up and doing so made it hurt everywhere. My throat was sore, my breath shallow and my arms wounded all over. But I made it and was now sitting securely on the rooftop.

“Fuck this, I knew it’d end bad…” I huffed, rolling up my sleeves to look at the multiples cuts on both my arms. It was more sore than painful, kind of like a cat’s scratches but when I touched it hurt a lot more. Hitting my head against the chimney I was resting against, I groaned. “I fucking knew it’d end up bad, but I promised everyone I’d look over him…” _I’m a failure_ , I scoffed dryly, my hands gripping my thighs tight. I was trying so hard to keep the tears in but I was alone, I was horrified, I didn’t know what to do. “Always making stupid promises… if you can’t even keep them, what’s the point?” I wondered rhetorically, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks silently.

Hearing footsteps echo nearby I stood up quickly and jumped on another roof. _I have to stay on the move, I can’t relax, I need to find the others_. Wiping the tears away, I tried to hype myself up, even though I did not believe the words that left my mouth, I kept repeating them over and over again, “Maybe he’s still alive, maybe I can still save him, maybe he’s still alive…” _But what if he’s dead? If he’s dead, I get over it. I’ll have to, the fighting is not over. Should I finish what he started? I’m not strong enough for that… I could become strong enough, I could come back later and finish Doflamingo._ The thought made me giggle nervously, who was I kidding? If I came out of this alive, I wouldn’t come back here, I would never ask the Heart Pirates to follow me.

I cared too much about them to force them to join me- _Stop thinking that like that, Law is alive, get to him in time and he’ll be fine!_ _He won’t be fine though he’s on the verge of dying- but that’s okay, he’ll come through he went through worse right?_ I let out a frustrated groan at the mix of thoughts in my mind, I did not know if I should be realistic or optimistic so I kept moving towards the castle. I had seen both the Admiral and Joker make their way towards that building, chances were that Law should be there too.

After a while, the castle was finally in my reach. I was weary, drained and bloodied up, I no longer had the drape around my knife wound. When Doflamingo use his strings on me, he made sure to cut that too and now I had and open wound and tons of cuts all over my arms. Still, it seemed to be taking care of itself enough since no blood was dripping which was the bare minimum I was hoping for.

Stopping at one spot in the shadow, I looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone. It reminded me of Punk Hazard which immediately threw me off, I was very bad at sneaking around on Punk Hazard, maybe I was just as bad here. Out of the blue, I remembered something, _Law’s vivre card_. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I tried to find it amongst other things in it, soon enough I found it and looked at it, it was halfway gone but very slowly gaining back some of its life. A nervous breath of relief escaped my lips as I stared at the blank paper in front of me.

I felt relieved but couldn’t waste more time, tucking it away, I kept my back against the wall and peeked inside the room through the window. I could see someone sitting on the ground by the door as the man from earlier, the Admiral, stepped in and seemed to be talking calmly to Joker. They weren’t paying attention to anything else, but the blond had a victorious grin on his face. But perhaps was his face always adorned with such expression? Since I couldn’t hear them, I looked around some more and realized that someone was sitting on one of the four seats in the middle of the room, at the heart-shaped one… it was Law.

He was handcuffed to the seat, his head hanging low, beaten, bleeding, knocked out. I hated that a part of me thought he was still handsome like that, but the most logical part was anxious, _how long could he stay alive in that state?_ I’m sure those handcuffs weren’t simple one either, they were made for fruit user. I was startled when Doflamingo tried to kick the Admiral, and moved to rest against the wall once more, _I would rather not get caught_.

After a moment, I looked back and there were more people inside the room. Law seemed to be awake and from what gathered, they were interrogating him. When he didn’t answer, the girl in the maid dress slapped in head, I felt my fingers tingle at the thought someone laying a hand on him when he was in that state, but gripped the wall tighter. I saw something move the back and realized Luffy was there with two other people, one of them being a doll soldier. Relief coursed through my body at the thought of not being alone if I was discovered, not that I was aiming to be.

My legs were starting to get weak from staying on the tip of my toes, on the edge of the wall. It wasn’t made to be walked on, but I was trying my best to stay balanced. I was careful not to look down, I was very high above the ground; One wrong move and I could fall down, which almost happened when Doflamingo slammed opened the window to overlook the city. He was mad, he was angry, he was more than infuriated. And I love it. I don’t know what had happened to make him mad like that but I was living for it, perhaps the plan was still ongoing and things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.

Things kept happening, one after another, I had no opportunity to get off my spot until a large man with a missing leg jumped out of nowhere and ‘heroically’ cut Doflamingo’s head off. But it was useless, it wasn’t the real him, and yet I took that opportunity and leaped back inside, the thumping of my feet on the ground made Law turn his face towards me. When our eyes met, I felt all the frustration that had built up since then melt away and I stood there, holding onto the edge of the window. “You’re alive-“ I was interrupted when Luffy came crashing in with a woman in his arms, “Torao!! You’re alive!!” he screamed.

_That was supposed to be my line, but yeah sure go off, I guess._ Luckily, they had the key to the handcuffs but the adrenaline and their over enthusiasm made it hard for it to fit the keyhole. And they said so, I was going to suggest I’d do it but Doflamingo’s double came back and everything went to shit. I heard him mention a birdcage, a grin spreading on his face, which was a huge contrast to the horrified look that painted Law’s face. The soldier raised his sword once more, but the Warlord was faster and was quick to get behind him and raise his foot, ready to kill.

I threw myself over Law’s seat and pushed it to the ground as Luffy threw himself on the man, I heard his name being screamed by the Straw-Hat Captain and learned it was Kyros. While Luffy was fighting with the blonde maniac, I scrambled to my senses a tried to find the key to Law’s cuffs. Stress was getting the best of me as my hands were shaking, it didn’t stop me from patting the ground to see if it was around. I stopped when I heard Law say my name, his voice gruffy and filled with worry.

“I’m trying, I’ll find it, I swear I’m trying-“ Why was my voice so uneven? Why was I getting so emotional, it was just a key, I had to take a breath and calm down… But it was mixed with elation from knowing Law was alive too, and I had a hard time getting myself under control.

He said my name again, but even though I heard it, I didn’t really hear it. I overheard it, I was too focused on the blood pumping in my ears and my hands on the moving ground.

“Look at me!” He said a bit louder this time, I looked up and met his gaze with panic. “You have to go, you can’t stay here, Joker he-“ Law bit back his words and gulped, it almost looked like he was getting emotional but I think it was his exhaustion that was getting the best of him.

“The birdcage, I know what it does. You have to go back to the Sunny-“

“I’m not leaving you behind,” I grabbed his hands, avoiding the cuffs knowing full well its effects. “I promised Bepo, I don’t care if I’m not part of the crew. I just…” His eyes were fixed on my arms, horror in his eyes. I pulled my hands from his and kept searching around the room, continuing in a lower tone, “I need you alive, that’s all.”

Before I could find the key, the ground started moving once more. It was guiding us towards the open part of the castle, towards the edge, towards a big fall. “Fuck-“ I tried to reach out for something, anything to grab to avoid falling, in vain. We were all free falling, Violet was screaming, Luffy was falling head first, Kyros and Riku were scared shitless too, but Law could not see what was under him. As much as he tried to keep his composure, there was terror in his eyes and I couldn’t help him. I was useless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bam, new update. To be honest, the whole goal of this fic is a confession. Once that happens, I have no clue where to go. But until then, here is more desperate attempt to see if that bitch Law is still alive.  
> It follows Dressrosa a lot btw.
> 
> Words: 4547  
> Added on 24th January 2020


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Canon-Typical blood and violence, think characters dies once more sike

Before hitting the ground, Luffy blew himself large enough for all of us to bounce on his belly but I was a bit off to the side. I tried to reach him, but couldn’t. In the seconds it took for me to reach the ground, I saw my life flashed before my eyes, I heard Law yell at Luffy who reacted in no time and enlarged his hand enough to grab me in time. I hit the pirate’s hand with a loud thud and apologized to him, quickly getting off of him, stumbling as I did so. My head was feeling dizzy but I couldn’t take a break, everything was only starting and I had to be there to help.

_I could sit down for a bit, it wouldn’t hurt, right?_ As everyone debriefed, I walked up to Law and sat by him, in silence. He was the first to speak.

“Sometimes I think you’re deaf.” He stated.

“I’m not, if that’s any reassurance.” I told him off-handedly, licking my thumb to brush some dried blood from my arms. I looked like the main character of the movie Carrie after her prom, it was a real sight.

“Then it just means you’re an idiot-“

“Exactly, but guess what? I’m an idiot because _you_ make poor choices, so I think it’s on you.” I said in a light tone. Being next to him alleviated some of the stress my body was feeling, it wasn’t a cure at all but a small part had left and it felt nice.

He was about to answer something witty, probably, when I saw pure fear in his eyes. “It’s started… the birdcage.” He said in a weak tone. I looked up at where he was looking and saw the strings, Doflamingo’s strings, reaching towards the sky only to fall back down somewhere far away. I listened carefully as he explained what was the Warlord planning and panic came rushing back in, I hated this. I hated him, this man was atrocious and we needed to get rid of him, I was not going to say no matter the cost… but considering what was going to happen if we did not take him down… I was willing to sacrifice a few things if it meant taking him down.

We started talking about what we should do, when we heard Doflamingo’s voice all across the country. I didn’t want to listen to him, I couldn’t bear to hear his stupid voice nor see his face, so I helped Law sit up off his seat and sat across from him. “If we lost the key, it’s on Luffy.” I stated as I rummaged through my pocket to find anything that could help unlocking the cuffs.

“You’re not going to be able to pick it, stop trying.” He said as a matter of fact, his hands tied behind his back.

“I’m starting to think you like being tied up, Law.” I said jokingly, grabbing his hands to take a look at the lock. I was surprised when his hands grabbed mine, but it wasn’t to stop me, it was to hold them.

I looked up at his back, confused. But didn’t let go, instead I smiled for a moment, tightening my grip on his hands. It must have made him realize what he was doing, because soon after, he let go and uttered my name in a scolding way.

“What? I’m checking the lock. Unlike you, I would rather have you free than chained up-“ I paused and moved back in front of him, grinning, “Or do I? You are much calmer like that, it’s also a sight really.” _Stop talking, god stop talking. Is this what you call flirting? Why would you flirt with him? Stop it._

He raised a brow, the faintest smirk on his lips. “I’m only calm because I lost a lot of blood, but if you’d like I can start telling you how idiotic it is to be here when I told you countless times to get _out_ of the Dressrosa.” His smug expression was replaced by some sort of disappointment, a tinge of frustration tainting his tone.

“Right, _I’m_ the idiot, right. Remind me who got in a fight with a Warlord a lot earlier than planned-“

He frowned and leaned forward, his face closer to mine now, and gritted through his teeth, “For the information, I’m also a Warlord, I could have handled him- But you had to be there and make things worse.”

Tilting my head to the side, I quirked a brow, it was a bit painful to hear him say that if I hadn’t been there, he could have taken him down. I knew he wouldn’t have been able to, but part of me thought it was true. “I’m sorry to hear that, I’m sure the beating you took was for the show, right? That doesn’t look like handling well, to me. But I could be wrong.” I shrugged, giving him a deadly glare as I spoke.

He was taken aback and scoffed, “Why were you even there? Why did you not follow the plan? Are you trying to make me mad?” He asked.

“Uh, not everything revolves around you. I make mistakes, ever heard of that?” I said in a defensive tone before continuing in a lower one, “I lost Zoro and Luffy, so I thought I should find you at Green Bits.” I didn’t want to make him mad per say… All my actions just happened to not be what he wanted me to do. A loud sigh escaped his lips. For a moment he let his head hang low before lifting it once more and looking at me with what I could only describe as tenderness.

“How are your arms?” He asked.

“How are my- _How are my arms_? How is your stomach?! You got shot three times! Don’t mind me, how are you, let me-“ I ignored his complains and scooted closer, taking a look at his wounds. I was not professional, but it was a bit strange there wasn’t a lot of blood there. He told me he was fine, that he was managing it well and had a plan but I was still worried. “You look so bad, are you sure you’re fine?”

He nodded and explained how he had made it through, and what he was planning on doing to get rid of the bullets then paused and looked at me intently. “Show me yours arms, I can’t do anything right now but I have to know if it’s bad.” He explained in a gruffy tone.

Grumbling, I rolled up my sleeves and showed him my bloody arms. Most of it was dried blood, but some cuts were deeper than others, especially the knife wound. “It’s not that bad, it just a scratch really compared to what you’ve been through-“

“Press around the wounds, does it hurt?” He asked in all seriousness.

Chuckling, I said half-jokingly, “Well if I press it, of course it hurts-“ He gave me a deadly glare and said to just do it. So, I did, and winced, but hid it the best I could.

“You probably have an infection, just from looking at it it’s not good. You’re not going to lose an arm though. Go back to the Sunny and get it treated,” I saw what he was doing, but I was not going back to the Sunny until everyone was going back. This was not over.

“You almost had me there, but no. I’ll help Viola look for the key.” I said with a mischievous grin as I stood up. Law called out my name in a warning tone, and stood up too, he almost lost balance but caught himself and looked down at me with a frown.

I asked, “How does it feel to not have things go your way? I can see you’re a bit tensed there, Captain-“ I felt a tension built between us at the words, the small fight we had before coming here came rushing back to my mind but I tried my best to ignore it. Suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder, Law was resting his head on it and let out a loud breath.

“Glad to know I’m still your Captain,” My breath hitched at the words, what did he mean by that? Hadn’t he told me to leave, was he regretting his words?

“As your Captain, I’ll ask but one thing…” I tensed at his words, was he going to tell me to go again? I didn’t want to leave, and I was not going to. “Since you don’t want to listen to me, then… Be careful, don’t try to come for me if things go to shit.”

I gasped and put a hand on his cheek to lift his head and look at him in confusion, “I wasn’t going to- more like, I… Hey it’s for Bepo and the team that I’m doing that. They don’t know that you’re being a complete idiot right now, you’re going to get killed-“ I shut up when he stared at me, not believing what I was saying. I felt my face heat up and looked askance, my hand falling back to my side.

“The only thing that can kill me is Luffy’s stupidity, not Doflamingo,” He paused. The silence made things a bit too intense to my taste. We both know he was wrong, but I played along, just this time.

Meeting his eyes once more, I couldn’t look away. The pull I’ve been feeling this whole time came back in a powerful way and I wanted to pull him down and kiss him, but I couldn’t. He seemed to be thinking of what to say, opening his mouth only to close it again. Instead of saying anything, he leaned in and pressed a kiss on my forehead before leaving and joining Luffy’s side. I stood there in shock, how come such a simple action could make me turn into such a mess? It did not alleviate my worry of him getting killed by Doflamingo, if he went to find him in such state, but it sent a weird feeling in my stomach.

I heard Luffy yell in determination, it was quickly followed by Law’s complaints and Zoro’s questioning. Turning around I saw the way he was carrying both men, like they were weightless, two bulky men under his shoulders. The sight was a funny one to see, even more so when I heard Law’s scream when Luffy threw himself, along with the others, towards the ground. Once they were out of sight, I exchanged a few words with Viola, offering her some help to find the key. She politely refused, saying she knew where to find it and she was going to bring it to them in time.

“Then, what do I do?” I asked her, pulling my sleeves down. Both her and the two other men made a thinking face, Kyros said he was going to help people in the centre of town and did just that. King Riku said he was going to join them but was told to stay here. According to Leo from the Tontatta, help was coming and since King Riku was there years ago when they were allies with the Tontatta Kingdom, Viola said he should stay, just for that. She then looked at me and gave me a small smile, “You should stay too-“

“Hey, I’m not royalty or anything like that, I don’t need to be put on the side.” I stated, straightening my back. For some reason the look she was giving me made me think of one of pity, I didn’t like it. So, I tried to look at confident as I could.

“Look at you, you’re bleeding all over. I see the way you wince when you move, you should rest.” She said politely. I didn’t need polite, I needed this to be over with. But being told I should rest, hit my pride, I didn’t know why. I wanted to be useful.

“Luffy and Law are in a state just as bad as mine, and they’re going for Joker.” I gritted through my teeth.

“But they’re fighters, from what I gathered your devil fruit is one of teleportation. Is that correct?” She asked softly.

“Yeah.” I simply replied. I had no idea where she was getting but I was willing to listen for now.

Humming she tore a part of her dress, there was an underskirt underneath which left her still fully dressed. Approaching me, she extended her arm, asking me to show my arms. And I did.

“Then we’ll need you to rest until the Tontattas arrive. Your power will be useful to evacuate the citizens.” She explained, all the while wrapping, the best she could, the fabric around my wounds. I don’t know if it was going to be of any help, but I let her do it. When she stopped, she held my arms and looked at me fondly.

“King Riku, my dad… He’ll need a lot of help; He cares for his people. He can lead them, but he can’t save them all on his own. Please help his people, our people- we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Sighing, I supposed it was all that I could do. I was not looking for greatness, I was not looking to take down Emperors and Warlords, I just wanted to stay alive. And maybe I wanted my Captain to stay alive… if only to tell him how I felt. _How egotistical was that?_ Moving my arms to hold her hands just for a moment, I nodded.

“Alright, but please find the key. Bring the key back to Law, if he stays chained up, he won’t survive and- and I don’t know what I’d do if he…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence, my breath hitched at the mere thought of him dying and I couldn’t bare it.

A soft giggle left the woman’s lips and she tightened her hands around mine for a second before letting go. “I’ll bring him the key, but don’t worry, I’m sure he wants to stay alive just as much as you want him to be.” I’m sure she meant something more from those words, but I ignored it and laughed.

“No, no. You don’t get it… He’s ready to die out there, and that’s what worries me.” I let out a shaky breath, but grinned tiredly, “If you see him, tell him he’s a fucking idiot and I’ll be waiting for him to come back, that- the crew is waiting for us at Zou wait no that’s too much, just tell him he’s an idiot.” I closed my eyes a moment, reflection on what I had said.

Right, an idiot but an idiot I’m worried about. An idiot that had no sense of self-preservation. An idiot that was willing to go down swinging if it meant fulfilling someone else’s will. But fuck, it was an idiot I loved.

Looking back at the princess, I nodded, “Right, right. Well, good luck with the key.” She thanked me and took off the moment we were done. I was left in the company of an old King who was believed to be dead as we waited for the Tontattas to arrive.

I didn’t know him, he did not know me, it was fair to say the mood was very awkward up until other people arrived. Viola returned after a while, and Usopp from the Straw Hat arrived too. I think I may have dozed off at some point, I did not know how, because I did not hear him arrive. However, I heard him scream when he saw the two Samurais. Then chaos ensued. I couldn’t quite follow their conversation; They were worried about someone name Manshelly but I did not know who it was except that she was very important to the Tontattas.

I tried to close my eyes once more, to rest, but it didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to move, do something. Which is what I did when I heard Viola say that Sugar was awake and that she had seen how things would happen in two minutes if we didn’t do anything. Usopp said he knew what to do, but as much as my Captain trusted the Straw-Hat crew, I had not fought with them. They owed us nothing, I did not owe them anything either. And if both Captains’ fate depended on _one man_ , I did not want to bet everything on it. So, I jumped off the platform we were on and started making my way towards the castle, my jumps weren’t as far as they could be from one point to another but I tried to get there as fast as I could.

When I left everyone, I think I heard Viola called out my name but I ignored it, or tried to, at least, she was pretty insistent.

It’s only when it was far too late for me to turn around, that I realized I wouldn’t get there in time. I stopped dead in my track and looked up at the castle, letting a frustrated groan escape my lips as I fell to my knees. I felt like all I was doing was running around, a pointless repetition of actions that lead me to nothing. I was fucking useless.

Still staring at the sky, I saw something fly through and crash through one of the castle’s window. I could only hope it was Usopp’s plan and that it had work because at this point, I was too disheartened to go on. But screams were echoing around me, people running around, for their lives even though nothing much was happening yet.

Swearing under my breath, I placed my hands on my knees to catch my breath and sighed before turning around and making my way towards the extremities of the birdcage. On my way there, I bumped into many people, most of them were running away from the deadly sharpness of the birdcage. I let the healthy people run and helped out the one who seemed to have a harder time, or those who tumbled. I couldn’t carry many people at once, at best two or three but I was going to make a difference no matter what. The idea was to steal as much time, while keeping as many people alive, right?

I didn’t have to do much else, but run around once more. “Oh, fucking hilarious.” I thought out loud as I helped an old lady who had tripped. She looked up at me, curious and I gave her a curt smile and apologized for swearing before dropping her at a far distance from the bars of the birdcage. I did that for a long time, I did not see time fly by, not that I had any way of keeping track of it.

At some point, people joined in and started helping putting others to safety, from what I overheard they were helping in the name of King Riku. I was grateful for the help, even more so when I heard a loud crash coming from the castle.

Looking towards the building, I made sure the person in my arms was stable and stared directly in the direction of the crash. Very, very slowly, the corner of the castle slid off. Then I saw, from afar, two forms in the air. Taking a good look, I couldn’t hide the fear on my face. Someone must have seen me and understood, since I heard them say that I should go, they were handling everything. I didn’t see who it was, I was too distraught by the sight of Law hanging in the air by Doflamingo’s hands, as I started running towards the castle. I bumped into someone who held me in place for a moment before scurrying off. Not paying them any mind, I thought, _I was closer than before but it was never enough, was it?_

Seeing the scene from afar I was wondering where was Luffy, why was Law alone against Doflamingo? Sure, both were warlords but there was clearly a different in level between them, not that Law would ever admit it. He was too stubborn for that. I was too low on the ground to see what was going on up there, I couldn’t run and stare at the sky at the same time but when I did one last time, I saw Doflamingo raise his foot just like he did when he was going to take down the soldier. Except he was doing it on Law this time, he did not hesitate to slam it down his arm.

My heart caught in my throat and I kept running forward, bumping into people as I did so and ignoring fights, I could not participate in. _Don’t do it, don’t do it, please let him live. Don’t do it_. My legs were starting to feel shaky, I had to yell at myself to keep going. Exhaustion was taking a toll on me, exhaustion and stress, pure panic too. I couldn’t read lips, and even if I did, I couldn’t see well enough what was being said but I think there was a scowl on Law’s face. _Now is not the time to be bitter_ , I thought, but I didn’t think too long on it and kept running.

He was in no state to take a beating, he had bullet wounds that needed healing. He took a beating right on the bridge, he was locked with Prism stone cuffs not too long ago. If he was to take a hit as strong as Joker’s, he wouldn’t get out of it alive, I just knew it. _If he_ \- I did not have time to finish my thought that Doflamingo pushed his leg, he slammed it into Law’s arm as he held him high in the air.

Then they were both crashing down.

I was close enough to hear to agonizing screams of my Captain.

My heart broke. It felt like a physical pain so much it hurt. _He could still be alive, right?_ I paid attention to the moans of pain but soon enough, they stopped. _No, no, he’s still alive, right?_ “The vivre card! I need- I need to see, if- _no, not if,_ he’s doing great, he’s okay, he’s alright.” Patting the outside of my pockets, I desperately tried to hear the scrunching noise of paper in it only to hear nothing. “Fuck off, don’t- it’s in there, I know it.” I muttered, and pulled my pockets out, they were now upside down and out. “No, no, come on!! Come! On!!!” I cried out, my voice was hoarse but I did not realize it, I couldn’t hear much. My head was filled with a mantra, a hopeless attempt to believe he was alive.

Everything was leading to him being gone. If I did not have his vivre card, it meant it was used up, it meant he was, “ _Dead_ …” falling to my knees, I hit the ground and starting hitting with my full strength, hurting the side of my fists in the process. “Fuck!” I didn’t stop until I felt content, repeating over and over that I should have told him it was madness, I kept swearing, letting out all my frustration. The dread of the birdcage was forgotten, all I could think about was his body lying on the ground, motionless.

I jumped when I heard gunshots and paused, staring at my bloody fists. _This was it_. This was the only remaining proof that I needed to be sure he was gone. I scoffed, feeling gross from the running tears on my cheeks and the dripping blood from my hands. I couldn’t feel anything and yet felt soreness all over my body. I couldn’t keep pushing on, I couldn’t do anything.

I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t be of use. I couldn’t even get a hold of myself. I couldn’t fight.

I tried to tell myself that it was not the time for self-pity. I tried to shove away in the depth of my mind what I had just seen, to erase that scene from my memory but I couldn’t. I was going to sneak off to some other place, quieter, where I could gather my thoughts when I felt myself being thrown away by an explosion.

The only thing that caught my fall was glass debris under myself, and onto my hands. The strength of the blow came from Luffy and Joker’s fight. I was going to get up when I heard a loud sound. Looking around, I gasped, squinting my eyes, “Is it… moving? You must be shitting me…” I uttered; my voice shaky as I looked at the birdcage. Observing long enough, I came to the conclusion that it was indeed moving and sighed. Seconds after, I remembered that if it was closing on itself, people might be in danger. My body was telling me to stop, to get away, but people needed help.

I had to ignore my own stupid feelings and help them, I couldn’t stay here, even less so considering the intensity of the fight that was happening up there.

But I couldn’t reason with how I felt. I felt heavy, not from fatigue but from knowing I had lost him. There was no going back, I would have to survive and go back to Zou to announce everyone I had failed. I had promised to look over him, I had promised to them and to myself, but I failed.

Dusting off everything off my form, I stumbled when trying to stand up but held my ground. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing but I could ignore it and hold back my sobs. Maybe I could replace this sadness when something helpful… like, anger, anger was nice.

Looking up I could see Luffy fighting and something sparked in my chest, _it was because of him that Law was taken down. Where was he when my Captain was being held so high above the ground, he probably went rushing into danger as expected and ruined everything_ \- “Everyone!! Get out of here!” I heard someone call out, it interrupted my inner monologue but perhaps was it for the good. I did not want to get mad at Luffy even though I still wanted to. Just a bit.

I looked around to see why did they want to move so desperately, but I did not have to wonder long. Fast enough, or was it fast? I don’t know how long I stood on that same spot, no one around me, but now I had to get moving. Fast enough, Doflamingo came crashing down somewhere in town. I almost lost balance at the quake it sent through the ground when his body smashed into the ground with full force from Luffy’s blow.

For a second I thought it was over, but as I approached the place where the Celestial Demon had fallen, I could see he was grinning. His fingers moving. Was it not enough? He looked so bad, he seemed in an ever worst state than I think I was and yet he was still up for more. Slowly, he stood up and I was not going to stay there long enough to see him standing, I couldn’t waste more time here.

As I ran away from the Celestial asshole, I almost got ran over my Luffy’s bouncing form. I used the little energy I had and teleported out of his collusion course. I could hear their fight going on, and hear it finish too. That’s when I stopped in my tracks and turned around, there lied on the floor the body of the Straw-Hat captain. Luffy, on the floor? Luffy, was defeated? I reacted out of instinct and teleported to his body, calling out his name.

“Luffy! Luffy get your ass back up, _Mingo_ is still alive.” I shook him, at least tried to. His only response was to tell me he needed ten minutes. But we did not have ten minutes. I didn’t tell him that, fortunately someone had more trust in him than I did. He was dressed like a gladiator; I did not know where he came from but he helped Luffy onto his back and said we’d get him ten minutes.

Watching them go away, I called out, “I’ll-“ _no it’s stupid, but stupid and improbable is what we need right now._ “I’ll try to stall him! Even if I need to get him to the highest point and throw him off of it myself!!” I screamed from the top of my lungs.

Shuffling to my feet, I couldn’t teleport yet, I had no energy but I did start running to where Doflamingo was. He was a bit far away, but when I reached him, he was stumbling but still threateningly-so. In front of him, I could see the form Viola, she was standing right in front of him and took her cape off, showing her daggers.

I winced, highly doubting the damage she could do on a Warlord with simple daggers, then she started attacking. It was beautiful to watch, it was almost like she was dancing. When she went for his face, I smiled. The smile on my face did not stay long when Joker was now right behind her and he kicked her to the ground. I was surprised to hear a voice not far away and turned towards it. There was a girl with pink hair standing there, horrified to see Viola on the ground.

Looking back at the seer, she was rising from the floor, her hands behind her back. It was not from her free will that she was doing so, Doflamingo was pulling literal strings. “Hey asshole!!” Why did I call him out? He hadn’t seen me but now he knew I was there. _Great way to use surprise as a way to get him_. “You. You’re still alive. Ah, well, don’t worry. You’ll join Law soon enough,” He shrugged and moved his fingers, but I teleported out of his reach. I had to be able to get him one way or another, but since I got out of his reach, he attacked the pink-haired girl instead.

I heard Viola call her ‘Rebecca’, and calling her she did. She was trying to reassure the girl who now had her sword raised, I was confused at first until I saw the tears running down her face. She wasn’t in control; she was being manipulated by the blond fuck. I was trying to come up with a solution, anything, but I hardly believed those strings were cuttable nor did I have anything to cut them. But maybe by bringing his attention back on me, I could at least stall him or distract him.

So, I jumped from my spot, onto his back just like last time. He groaned and unlike last time, I did not have the strength the play rodeo and hold onto him for dear’s life. I was weakened, and couldn’t keep up with him. Grabbing me by the throat he lifted me, still manipulating the two women. “When will you learn to stay in your fucking place?” He grunted before slamming me into the ground.

A loud huff was all that escaped my lips, I couldn’t move anyway. The ground suddenly felt comfortable. The conversation that was happening in front of me was muffled, I couldn’t understand what they were saying but as Rebecca held back from making her way to Viola, Doflamingo was grinning. He was happy from all of this, but it didn’t last long.

The moment Rebecca was about to strike down Viola, the latter was replaced by Luffy- _what?_ _How did he get there?_ I was agape at what had been displayed in front of me, trying to comprehend. The only person I knew could do that was- “Law?” I sobbed in hope. Looking around to catch a glimpse of him, I felt desperate, I felt stupid. He was not here anymore, they somewhat managed to switched place- _There he is. On the roof of that building._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got the trauma, the love and yeah. Gentle touches, do tell me if you like it so far.
> 
> If you got any requests, my Tumblr is open fellas!
> 
> Words: 5386  
> Added on 27th January 2021


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Innuendos, just haha subtle no-so-subtle kinky stuff fellas

How could he be alive? How could he be there, watching the fight? How did he make it? I felt relief course through my body just from seeing his angry face. He seemed fine, if not better than last time I had seen him. My heart started beating faster in my chest, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes but instead of crying, I went past my limits and focused hard enough to teleport to that roof. I almost did not make it, for my focus was definitely not there, no matter how hard I claimed it to be.

When my knees hit the ground, I looked up towards Law, and he stared right back at me, frowning.

I covered my mouth and stood up really quick, stumbling the few steps that separated us before falling to my knees once more and pulling him into a hug. I held him so tight, I think he had to hit my back gently to ask me to calm down. I loosened my hold just a little bit but did not lean away. If I did, I’d see his face and if I saw his face, I’d break down. “What has gotten into you?” He asked, very confused. I tried to come up with the words but knew that no matter what I’d say, I would cry. Remembering what I saw was enough to make me sick and sad.

“Your arm… it’s back…” I said against his shoulder as I moved my hand over it. He winced and said he still needed some time before doing anything crazy. I hummed but did not move.

“Can you let me go?” Law grunted. _I could, but did I want to?_ I felt like if I let him out of my sight again, he’d be gone for good. I was scared, I was mortified, I did not want to let him go, I thought as I leaned back and looked away. “Sorry.” I mumbled before standing up. I could feel the tears coming back, I asked him to give me a minute and he took that time to watch over Luffy and Rebecca who were still in the middle of the fight.

I moved to the edge of the roof and looked over it too, watching when Law brought Rebecca to us and seeing the defeat of Doflamingo against Luffy. I said I saw it all, but all of it was behind a filter of tears and short breaths. I was trying to get a hold of myself but I couldn’t, I was dead tired, I couldn’t keep the façade up anymore. I was grateful when no one came up to me, I needed to let it all out.

When Luffy got shambled back to us, both women went to check up on him. I wiped the tears from my face and patted my cheeks to hype myself before making my way to Law. He seemed exhausted, but relieved too. In a small voice, I asked, “Are you relieved?” Looking at him, I felt self-aware. How long was staring too much? Could I keep looking at him until I had to go? Could I take a good look at all his features until I had enough? What was the right amount of time someone took, looking at someone else’s eyes before it’s creepy? I wondered…

He shrugged and leaned back on the wall, finally opening his eyes after seemingly dozing off, sitting. “There is still much more that needs to be done-“ He stopped mid-sentence and stared at me in awe before grabbing my hand a pulling me down. “What happened to you?! How are you in a worse state than- stop moving!” I tried to pry his hands off my face but while he was out of breath and tired, he still had energy to be a doctor. And a doctor he’d be.

“To be honest, I’m past the point of feeling anything.” I stated, letting my hand fall to my side when he shooed them once more. Telling me that being a brat was not going to help. I think my cheeks heated up when he said that, but I could put it on the countless wounds I had.

“Do you think it’s something to be proud of?” He asked, touching something on my forehead that made me wince.

“I survived, did I not?” I asked rhetorically.

“You wouldn’t have _had_ _to_ _survive_ if you had stayed on the ship-“ I pushed him away from me and sighed loudly. How long could he repeat the same thing over and over again? He was going to speak again, probably offended that I cut him off, but I spoke up.

“I get it, okay?! I should have listened, but I didn’t and now it’s all over!” I said a bit too strongly. “Seeing you die in front of me was enough of a punishment, I don’t need to feel worse than I do right now. If you want to keep telling me I’m an idiot, do that once I’m rested because I’m this fucking close to do something I’ll regret. Alright _Captain?_ ”

He stood there, silent. I repeated my words over in my head and regretted them instantly. Fortunately, we were told to move before he could reply. We were to be guided to Kyros’ house, where we could rest. I was going to get up and hurry away from Law when he caught me and slipped my arm over his shoulder. “Don’t overdo it. Lean on me.”

Huffing, I did as he asked. Not talking.

He chuckled and I felt his hand tighten around my arm and waist, “This, you listen to, uh?”

I felt my face burn up and I looked away, “Who am I to ignore my doctor’s advice?” I said quickly as we followed everyone. “Yours?” I heard him wonder softly.

Facing him quickly, I stuttered, “I mean- mine like, like you’re not Chopper, you’re the Heart Pirates’-“ “I’m kidding, relax…” I felt my heart lighten. For some reason, having him being playful was reassuring. I called it playful but it was more teasing than anything else, not that I minded.

We walked a long while before reaching the house where some medical equipment was waiting for us. Those who were in better shape took care of those in worse states, Law took care of the hunk blonde man he brought back from the castle. It took a lot of time, during that time I was dosing off outside, looking at the field of flowers that was expending in front of me. There were groans inside, but once it all calmed down, Law left the house and closed the door behind himself before plopping down in front of me.

I did not look at him, too lost in my thoughts and perhaps hoping he’d just take care of my wounds without talking. But he did not stay silent.

“I’ll do what I can, but I’ll probably have to take another look once we’re off this Island.” He explained. I kept my gaze off of him. “Look at me.” He ordered. I clenched my jaw and stared straight ahead, not looking at him. Sure, we joked once, but I was still not over his constant repetition of how bad my choices were. I thought I was feeling better but now that we were alone once more, the heaviness in my chest was back and I was trying very hard not to jump him. I wanted to feel him close, I needed him. “I said, look at me.” He grumbled, grabbing my jaw and making me face him.

I was met with his surprised expression, he let the hand that was holding tweezers hit his knee. “Why are you crying? Does it hurt that bad?” He asked.

I chuckled and wiped the tears, taking a deep breath to calm down. “It hurts yeah, but like not- not physically. I mean, yeah it also hurts everywhere but-“ “Is it about the thing you said?” I grabbed his hand and got it off my face, to look anywhere but at him.

“Yes. Yes, it is. But just, just doctor me. Forget what I said.”

Moving his hand to my forehead, he didn’t warn me and pulled out a shard of glass from my forehead. “I can do both, talk.” He stated, throwing the shard to the ground.

“I said what I said, what more can I say-“

“Don’t play with me, just because I’m a doctor doesn’t mean I won’t do everything to get you to talk.” He punctuated his words by grabbing my hand and rolling my sleeve without much care then he started cleaning the wounds. I winced and tried to pull back but he only held me stronger.

“I thought you had died. I saw when… I saw your arm get cut off, then I heard your screams-“ I paused and gulped, feeling a knot forming in my throat. I hissed again when he pressed the alcohol on my wounds before moving to my other arm where the knife wound was.

“Continue, I’m not finished, neither are you.”

Scoffing, I did as he asked. “I thought I’d check your vivre card, but it was gone and then the gunshots…”

“When did those happen, then?” He moved his hands from checking my knife wound to opening my hands and checking the side, with which I had hit the ground, hard.

“I think the knife wound is a bit more important here, Law-“

“How? I’ll treat everything, just tell me how you did it.” He insisted.

“Well, how did you get your arm back? I saw it get cut right off, and I don’t see you talking about it-“ “Leo sewed it back on and the Tontatta princess healed it. Your turn now.”

I did not know how to say it without just telling him how heartbroken it made me to know he was gone. How desperate I was and how much I wanted to cry. I was not going to tell him any of that, I had to find something- “And be honest.” _Fuck him_ …

“I just… I hit the ground, I kept hitting the ground. Over and over again. That was my first reaction, along tears and… yeah, I was just… I-“ I pulled one of my hand from his and wiped the tears again before leaning against the wall, looking at the sky instead of him. “I’m so relieved you’re alive. You were right, I was so fucking useless out there.” I said in a weak voice. He didn’t warn me when he started sewing shut the huge knife wound, I gasped and looked down where his fingers were working diligently.

“I didn’t say that, I said you should stay on the ship-“

I cut him off, feeling a bit annoyed, “Underlying statement being I was weak, wasn’t it?”

He sighed and kept working on my arm, “Not at all, you keep getting things wrong.”

“Keep getting things wrong? I wouldn’t get things wrong if you were clear, Law.”

“I didn’t tell you to leave my crew, let’s start there.” He huffed, cutting the thread he used to put sutures. Then he moved and did the same on the bleeding wound on my forehead.

“Well then, here is what you did do is: _you did_ call me stupid, and _you did_ give me an ultimatum.” He exhaled loudly once more, this time I could feel his breath hitting my face from how close he was looking at his work.

In a low tone, he whispered, “You weren’t supposed to take it.”

“What do you mean?” I was confused.

“You were supposed to choose the crew over this stupid fight, I know how much you like the crew. I thought it’d make you stay.” He explained, this time a bit clearer. I tried to look at him from under his hand, but couldn’t really see him. I could however feel the needle stinging my skin. I could also feel the exasperation building up inside me.

“It was not ‘the crew or the fight’ to me it was ‘the crew or your life’, yours, Law. Your fucking life. I just couldn’t bear losing you if you decided to sacrifice your own life.”

He stopped moving, then cut the thread before looking at me, frowning. “Why would you choose my life over the crew?”

“Because I made a god damn promise to Bepo! Because you were ready to die out there! Because I needed to make sure I could do something about you _not_ _dying_ \- which I failed by the way. But also because I-“ meeting his eyes, I stopped and laughed at myself before shaking my head. I did not continue, nor did he. He was frozen on the spot.

“Because what?” he asked.

I chuckled and shrugged. “Why were you so intended to keep me on the ship, Law?”

He sighed, probably ready to ask me once more what I was not ready to tell him. Instead, he started wrapping bandages around my arms. “You can’t fight. I need to remedy that.” “I know I can’t fight, but I can still be useful.”

He chuckled and met my gaze, smiling. “Tell me, what kind of Captain would I be if I sent my crew out there without them being able to fence for themselves?” I shrugged.

“I was worried. While you are useful, in many ways, I knew this was going to need fighting more than helping. But you insisted, and insisted. I had to make you stay, to avoid….” He gave me once over, “This.” He nodded at my pitiful state.

“It’s not your fault-“

“Yes, it is. I couldn’t watch over you, I was too focused on taking _him_ down.”

“And you wouldn’t have had to watch over me if I didn’t come…” I argued back, earning a short laugh from the fruit-user.

“You wouldn’t have come if you did not feel the urge to protect me from my…” Cutting him off, I huffed a laugh, “Tendencies to prioritize the mission over your own life?” He laughed and nodded, I liked seeing him smile again even if it was a small one.

We stayed silent for a moment, until he was done wrapping the bandaged around my arms and making sure it held. “I should have listened to you…” I mumbled.

“You should have.”

“But I don’t regret not doing it.” I said softly.

He breathed my name in a warning tone, before continuing, “Don’t do it again. Look at you, look at all the damage you took-“ he paused he looked at me frowning, “Why did you come to Punk Hazard?”

  
I choked on my saliva at the mention of the beginning of it all, of my desperate attempt to keep an eye on him. He leaned over, making me lean back and hit the wall. I gasped at the pain in my back but try to cover it with a short chuckle. “I told you, I was worried.”

“Penguin was worried. Shachi was worried, Bepo too, but I don’t see any of them here.” _Because they’re not in love with you… I am…_ But I didn’t reply. He sighed and asked me to turn around and take off the clothes that were covering my back.

“It’s nothing, just bruises. We should go sleep.” I could feel my blood pumping, my hands getting cold and yet sweaty. If I stayed here any longer, I’d do something I’ll regret.

He lost his patience and said my name in a way that half scared me, half turned me on. So, I followed his order and turned around, taking off everything that was in the way before slumping over my knees and keeping the clothes close to my front. I made sure my hair was out of the way too.

“It’s-“ I felt his slender fingers brush over my back and felt a shiver run down my spine but did not say anything. With how delicately he was touching me, it did not hurt, if anything it felt like a caress. So, I closed my eyes, humming.

“You have cuts, and bruises everywhere. It’s not small ones, they’ll take a while to heal- What happened to you?”

“Do you want the truth?” “Yes, I never want you to lie to me no matter how intended you are on keeping things for me, dear-” I heard him clear his throat before starting working on my back. _Did I hear him right? Did he call me dear? No, I must be tired, projecting even_ …

“ _Mingo_ did not like it when I jumped on him, twice if I may add. He slammed me into the ground, very angrily, both times.” I tried to shrug but Law had placed a hand on my shoulder, holding me in place. Turning my head to the side, I had his hand right next to it. I contemplated doing something, looking over his tattoos and gentle hands. It felt intimate for some reason, not just a doctor and a patient. Thinking, _fuck it_ I did a thing I’d regret and leaned over just lightly, planting a kiss on the back of his hand before looking back ahead.

I felt his hand tightened right there. I thought he’d move it away but instead he moved it closer to my neck, his thumb brushing my skin ever so lightly. “Why would you jump on his back in the first place? I would scold you but I’m curious…”

“Yeah, well- he was going to shoot you so I jumped him but he dealt with me just as fast as he put… as he… you know, shot you….” I paused a moment, enjoying his palm placed on my back as he put bandages on it. Then I remembered I was talking, and continued, “The second time, I tried to distract him so that he’d let go of Viola and Rebecca, as you can see, it did not go well. I don’t regret any of those things though, in the end everyone’s fine, right?”

I heard him chuckle then pack up the medical stuff before asking me to help wrapping bandages around my form. When we were done, he softly said, “It looks like when I’m not around you’re a wild animal,” I then felt his forehead against the back of my head then his lips grazing the nape of my neck, he slid his hands to rest them over my shoulders, pressing the pad of his thumb like a massage. I wanted to tense, startled by the touch, but instead I melted into it. I let my head lean back against his, then I felt his lips press against my skin I turned around, to meet his eyes in shock. That’s when he realized what he had done and quickly stepped away, swearing under his breath. “It’s done, get dressed. Go rest.” He said quickly, grabbing the supplies from the ground before standing up.

“Hey, don’t leave!” I never dressed so fast, in seconds I was standing up and grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Calling his name, he did not pay attention, “Ignore what I did, it was inappropriate. Avoid sleeping on your back and-“ “Law! Why don’t you listen to me? Stop packing your shit, stay.”

He shrugged my hand of his shoulder and turned his back on me. I felt a twinge, I felt sick, I felt hopeful too, but all together I felt weird. A knot in my stomach, why had he said that? Why was he trying to throw it under the rug?

“Why did you follow me to Punk Hazard?” He asked while turning around, staring down at me with a scowl. I did not want to be asked this right away, I knew full well why, I was worried yes but it’s because I did not want to lose him, because I could not bear through the pain of seeing him die if he ever did.

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it and looked to the side. Could I trust my mouth right now? Could I even form words? I was embarrassed, panicking and my blood was pumping so hard I was sure he could hear it too. I let out a shaky breath, laughing nervously. “I… you…” how to say it? Did I really want to say it? If he was asking, he must know, right?

He exhaled loudly and rested his sword against the wall, for a second I thought he was going to leave but instead he put the supplies on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest. I stared at the bandage around his biceps, that’s where it had been sliced, I could still hear his screams- “I, what?” He inquired.

Shaking my thoughts clear, I met his gaze for a second but could not look at him longer than that, I never did that. I did not know how to do it, I just felt out of place. How did one confess to their Captain?

Letting out a nervous chuckle, I pushed him away and gave him the best smile I could muster. I was not going to tell that I loved him, nor that I needed him alive, I had to keep this professional. When- no, _if_ he rejected me, it’d be awkward. “I told you, I was worried,” I said. It made him sigh as he moved to grab his stuff once more. “I’m not used to having a Captain that lets his crew behind to do, you know… Pirate stuff. Usually, it’s all of us or none-”

“It’s called being careful. I have to be careful enough for the both of us, considering how prone you are to getting in dangerous situations.” He hissed, grabbing my arm as an emphasis for his words.

I scoffed, trying to pull my arm away from his hold but he kept his hand tight around it. “And maybe I wouldn’t have to leave you behind, if I could trust you.” He finished, before squeezing his hand tightly then letting go.

For a moment, I realized how bad words could hurt. I felt a pang in my chest but kept my expression calm. He shouldn’t know how much it hurt me, he should know that I’m strong and reliable.

And yet, when I stared at him, all my voice could muster was, “You don’t trust me _?” I trusted him, why did he not trust me?_

His face contorted in a pained expression for a second, then he huffed. “Just tell me why you followed me to Punk Hazard, I need to know.” His tone was strained, but I was not ready yet. I wanted to be honest, I did, but seeing him right now… I thought back on my plan of telling him, and just sighed. “No, you’re right. You shouldn’t trust me, I could be a surgeon that takes people’s heart out of their chest and be known to just murderer people, that would be hard to trust-“

“Fine, so be it. If you want to play that game, let’s go back inside.” He did not even give me time to reply that he stepped back inside.

While scolding myself internally, I followed him; I discretely reached out for his coat to stop him but stopped mid-way and shook my head once more. _Stop this, what if he doesn’t trust you? He made it abundantly clear when he told you, you were stupid and that he did not need you. Shove it all away and don’t do anything rash_. We went our separate ways, he laid on the ground, using his sword as a pillow which mustn’t have been comfortable. And yet he fell asleep just as soon as he hit the ground.

I would have suggested him to sleep with me like we did back on the ship, but there was this growing tension between us. I thought it’d have disappeared after his almost death, but it was ever present.

At some point during the night, Sabo came in to check up on Luffy. I was not as surprised by learning they were brothers, as his crew was. They seemed caught off guard, but it didn’t stop them from welcoming him. I only half-paid attention to his story, my focus was solely on the wounded man on the ground. Why was he so insistent in wanting to know why I followed him to Punk Hazard, I told him many times one of the main reasons why I did he but he was pushing.

Making sure my back was off the wall, I brought my knees to my chest and crossed my elbows on it, resting my head too. The bandages were a bit too tight around my sternum, but I ignored it. While Law called himself my Captain again, and so did I earlier, I still did not think I was welcomed back. I should listen to him and leave but at the same time… at the same time it was perhaps just my fear of doing something I’d regret that kept me from going back to him.

I couldn’t wake him up now, so I’d have to wait until morning to talk about it again but… perhaps I should follow Sanji’s advice and talk like adults. _Yeah, talk like adults but also keep not telling him the truth, you know, like an adult. Fucking idiot._ Huffing, I kept myself on high-alert but tried to get some rest nonetheless.

While the Straw-Hat crew seemed nice, I did not spend enough time with them to know if I could let my guard down. Even on the Polar Tang I almost begged to get one solo, even if very small, room to myself. In the end I managed to have one shared with Bepo, but it was mostly just me since Law requested him to sleep with him on rougher nights. But those nights came in more recently, at least before Punk Hazard. Perhaps was it because he was thinking about this revengeful plan, he had concocted to get rid of Doflamingo? Perhaps it took the dust off some old memories that he would have been keen on forgetting.

Whichever it was, I think he was glad that this very night he did not have nightmares. Or maybe he did not sleep at all, like I did, only half-asleep but still very much aware of what surrounded us.

When we woke up in the morning, the Samurais brought food. I managed to sneak and get some for myself and Law, dropping it in front of him before going through the door without a word. I’m sure he wasn’t he a mood to talk, but I was not in a mood to see him sulking around either. So, I sat outside and watched the flower field.

I did not know how long I stood there, but I could feel my whole body was on fire. The adrenaline from last night had worn off and I had a hard time going around, which is why I stayed seated on the ground and did not venture to the centre of town. Even when I heard the Princess was helping the injured one, but when I heard wind of it, I also heard the mention of the Marine. While I wanted to get some of my pain alleviated, it was not worth the risk of crossing path with the Marines.

Hearing the ruckus inside, I had guessed they heard it too, and were probably deciding on what to do.

Soon after, I heard the door open along soft footsteps before being nudged on the shoulder by something solid. Looking at it, it was the tip of a sheathed sword, Law’s. “Is it time to go?”

“Yes, get up we’re leaving.” He grunted, handing me a hand.

Taking it, I hissed and was ready to follow the others when he gripped my wrist. “Stay close to me, don’t wander off and keep running, no matter what. Are we clear?”

“Yeah sure, let’s go.” Before I could go, he pulled me once more and gritted through his teeth, “It’s a yes or no question, are we clear?”

 _It’s alright, it’s okay, don’t react. He’s on edge, it’s okay._ With as much frustration as him, I smiled, “Yes, sir.” His frown disappeared and confusion struck his features, then I rushed to the front and joined everyone when they started running.

I was out of breath pretty easily; I suppose I should maybe work on my stamina and combat skills when I’m back with the crew. _Perhaps Penguin would help me, I’m definitely not asking Law since he’s being a bitch_. Or maybe it was because of the bandages…

As we ran, I realized we had lost Luffy. I stumbled a bit at the realization but got brought back to the front by Law who pulled me once more, telling me to hurry up.

Rolling my eyes, I would have teleported to the front to show off if we weren’t being shot at. The only thing protecting us being the huge shield, Bartolomeo was holding up, or as he called it: barrière.

But it did not matter, I could keep up, I was in automatic mode the entire time. That is, until I saw Law take a turn.

“Oh, no. He’s not doing this right now.” I said to myself while following him. When I teleported to the street he had turned to, I felt an arm pressed right under my neck. It disappeared off of me just as fast and I was left, a hand on my neck as I looked at Law in confusion.

“I told you to not wander off, why are you here!” He exclaimed in frustration.

“It’s not wandering off, I’m just following you at this point-“

“Don’t do that! Don’t play on words, go back to- fuck they’re too far now.” He groaned after checking the streets before looking back at me with his usual frown. “Why did you follow me?”

“Well, it’s called the buddy system. You’re not going anywhere alone, the only person who’s allowed to do that is Luffy because he can make friends easily.” I said casually, leaning against the wall. As I did, I felt the stinging pain in my back but ignored it, before continuing with my underlying statement, “ _You_ , however, cannot make friends for shit. I’m the buddy here.”

Law sighed loudly, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. After a few seconds, he held out his hand, “Follow me, but when I tell you to hide, you hide. I’ll be nearby.”

Hesitantly, I took his hand. Sure, it was for guidance, but it still felt nice to touch him in a non-medical way, for the very few times I did. We ran towards an unknown direction; it was unknown until I saw there was one Marine sitting on the rumbles. He wasn’t ready to attack, and nearby was seated a big monkey. A gorilla? An orangutan? I didn’t know, it was definitely a primate. With a gesture of his hand, Law signalled me to stop and hide, which I did. I let my bum hit the ground a bit too strongly, but it felt nice to rest. My muscles were on fire, my lungs were threatening to come out of my mouth and my wounds had probably opened again, the sewing must have been shitty for it to happen.

Placing my head against the wall, I tried to calm my beating heart to eavesdrop the conversation that was happening _. No, no, don’t do that, it’s his life. Don’t do that_ , I told myself before bringing my fingers to my ears and trying my best to muffle everything. It wasn’t hard considering the loud crashing sounds that were happening in the distance. Stones flying in the sky, gathering to a huge one, I think I saw Luffy there too.

My arms were starting to tire, if they weren’t enough already from the gashes on it. But I sighed, and gulped. It muffled the sound even more, I had to fake a yawn to undo it but kept my gaze ahead of me to not get caught off guard.

Without sound, I felt like I had no notion of time. It was strange to say that, but I felt like it had been ages since Law had left. The moment I had that thought, something nudged my shoulder. I gasped and moved my hands from my ears, looking at it and seeing Law with a scowl.

Feeling like he was going to ask, I used his sword as lever to get myself up and groaned, “I covered my ears. I promise I didn’t hear your conversation with the Marine, no matter how suspicious this is.” His only reply was a scoff at first, then he pulled the sword and me with it, catching my bicep before I could fall.

“Don’t grab my sword like that, it’s not meant for that-“ “I don’t see you handing me a hand when my wounded ass is on the ground, _chief_.” I scoffed, letting of his sword with a huff.

“You have the worst attitude. I don’t have time to deal with you right now, let’s go.” He motioned with a curt of his head before starting running towards the huge ball of debris in the sky. I suppose it made sense to run towards the most frightening thing on the island right now. If that was there, it meant they were trying to block our way, which meant the port was that way.

But the call that is ‘running towards danger’ never ended well, no matter who initiated it. And yet, here I was, keeping my mouth shut and running behind him without complaining.

It might be a lie; I may have complained a bit about the utter pain that I was feeling all over my body but he was pretty good at ignoring it and just told me to keep going. “You seem fine for someone who lost an arm, I should have asked Minsh- Manshi… the princess to heal me, too.” I said out of breath, now running right next to Law.

I almost tripped when he laughed at my struggle and simply corrected me, “Manshelly.”

Chuckling I shrugged, or tried to, it was hard to do while running. “Yeah well, let’s Manshe-leave so that you can take proper care of me.” Was I pouting? It took me a bit of time to realize what I had said, it sounded like I was a brat in need of attention when all I meant was that he did a poor job last night.

Which I was not going to tell him.

He chuckled once more and was about to reply when he put his arm in front of me and stopped me dead in my track. With a huff, I placed my hand on his arm to balance myself and looked ahead where stood our allies. “We’re there, stay by my side.”

“You’re the one who wanders off, not me. You don’t need to tell me twice-“ He cut me off,

“No, I need to repeat it _countless_ _more_ _times_ ,” He sighed as we hurried to joined the rest of the people. Looking over at me, he smirked, “Maybe the princess could have healed your hardness of hearing, that would have been a gift-“

“I’m not deaf Law, it’s called selective hearing. It’s necessary when you keep repeating the same shit over and over, you know?” There was a bit too much animosity in my words, but it was too late. They were out now.

Once we had joined everyone and waited for Luffy’s fight to be over, Law continued. “The same shit? Do you mean: the orders you can’t seem to take?”

“Hey, I can take a lot, ok? But I already told you, your orders were bullshit. Not all the time, but sometimes.” I paused and raised a finger, “And I followed all yours orders up until now, just not the stupid ones so… I’m great at this, really.”

He sighed loudly, “If you’re so great, why do I feel like putting you on a leash is the only way to keep you still when I tell you to stay back.”

I turned around and faced him in pure awe, and slight embarrassment. _Why did I kind of like what he said? No, no, don’t think that_ … They say to carve every word before letting it fall, but I just spurt pure raw unthought words, “And I feel like chaining you down is the only way to keep you out of danger, oh- wait no, sorry you can manage getting tied up just fine, especially when the enemy-“

“Alright! Both of you, please, stop with the flirting. It’s annoying, it’s definitely something that needs to be talked about in private and above all,” Cavendish covered his eyes in emphasis for his next words before dramatically saying, “It’s truly painful to see, goodness…”

After hearing the blonde’s words, I felt my face flame up and looked away from both of them, clearing my throat. I did not mention his use of the word flirting and simply waited for the ‘go’ before starting sprinting towards the huge ships that awaited us at the port.

I dared throw a glance at Law while running, he seemed deep in thought. _Maybe I should apologize, I don’t even know why I said any of this. I don’t mind his orders, they make sense, I’m just an idiot. I can’t tell him that though, it’d be too gratifying for him… No, he wouldn’t be satisfied by that_ … Even so, I had to find an excuse as of why I spoke so heatedly instead of staying compose like I usually am. _Looks like shoving it all way is starting to have consequences I don’t like…_

Focusing on the task at hand, we all ran to the ships and, thanks to Luffy, reached the said ships in one piece instead of all ending up at the bottom of the ocean. Maybe not all of us would have drowned, but fruit users definitely would have.

Lots of people returned to their own ships, but it looked like the most important fighters decided to join the one on which we had all gathered along the Straw-Hat crew. When they started talking about pleading allegiance to Luffy, I snuck off and wandered about the inside of the huge ship. “I should probably find a change of bandages, I can smell the iron-y smell from here, yikes.” I said to myself. Talking to myself eased the eerie feeling of being alone inside an empty ship. Yes, people were on deck, probably feasting at this point, but inside it was empty.

No number of loud laughs could help with that ghost-like sensation of being alone in an unknown place. I felt out of place but kept searching until I found a pretty well stocked infirmary.

Closing the door behind me, the room was muffled. There wasn’t any sound except the creaking of the wood, and for a moment there, it felt peaceful. I stood against the door an unknown amount of time before pushing myself off the wooden door and making my way to the bed.

Taking off my shoes, I sat on the bed and patted the pillows a bit, humming to help with the lack of sound in the room. “If they’re partying, I could nap… I sure … as hell mmm need some… of that nice…” _Sleep_. I couldn’t help my eyelids from closing and my brain going in pass out mode. I felt my body relax and very slowly, I let myself drift off to an uncomfortable but _perhaps_ restful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Law said: I might be a healer but... *cocks gun*  
> You know what's coming right? Fun times, and like Phil Collins said: "Can you feel it, coming in the air tonight.... oh no"
> 
> Words: 6649  
> Added on 1st February 2021


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter lads  
> TW/ innuendos? but that's all, really.

It’s strange. It’s odd. Feelings can wake you up, weird sensations too, without there even being a contact with your body. Sometimes at night people wake up with a feeling of dread, or a chill running down their spine. Others from the lack of warmth around them, suddenly realizing they had battled with their blankets during the night.

I, however, felt watched. I was also very aware that someone was in the room with me, so I opened my eyes just a little bit to peek. I could only see shoes, but it was enough to trigger a fight or flight response in this still sleepy state.

Looking somewhere behind the person, they were sitting on the rolling chair from the desk but facing me, I focused and teleported behind them. Let’s write down this moment as the most fruitless attempt of taking someone down.

The moment I was behind them, not only did I realized it was Law, but also in a quick gesture of his hands he uttered the word “Shambles” and brought me back to the bed. He threw me the pillow with which he had shambled me, and rolled up to me with a smirk. “Are you done?”

“Do you know how creepy it is to watch someone sleep?” I whispered/yelled, still not fully in control of how my voice was going to be.

“I knocked. Three times.”

“Sure, whatever. Just don’t,” I waved my hand in front of me, “Do that again, you scared me shitless.” I said, giving him a side glance. “And saying ‘I knocked three times’ does not justify the fact that you were watching me sleep, by the way.”

“I was going to wake you up soon. I need to change your bandages, among other things.” He explained coldly, bucking his hips to bring the chair closer to the bed.

His legs were put strangely with how long they were and how low the chair was. “Maybe, elevate the seat?” I suggested with a slightly mocking smile. He threw me a glare in response before patting under the seat to finally find the lever.

This time it was good and he was almost hovering over me. “It’s useless, I’m going to stand up, I can’t do shit sitting down.” He complained, kicking the chair back. It hit the desk with a bit of strength but only enough to rattle the jars on the wooden furniture before calming down.

“Someone’s on edge, you’re not usually so tensed.”

Ignoring my words, Law told me to turn around and take off my clothes once more so that he could remove the bandages. When he did, it stuck to the wounds, but I could finally breathe properly and it was a relief. “I did not have the right lighting yesterday, but your wounds are bad.” He scolded, undoing most of the things he had done last night, saying it was shitty and he shouldn’t have done it in such a state.

“I know, I fucked up.” I mumbled, looking over my shoulder.

Then a silence.

“It’s nothing I can’t fix.” He breathed softly; his gaze ever so analytical as he redid all that he did last night. Another silence followed, then I felt his fingers graze my skin tenderly. “You should have told me the bandages were too tight.”

“I thought it was supposed to be that way, you know like, keep the blood in-“ “You also have to keep the blood flowing, you’re lucky you didn’t pass out,” He spat. “I can see the marks of all over your skin.” This time it was almost a guilty tone, but I could be wrong.

“It’s alright, I think it’s because I had to take deep breaths when we ran earlier.” I told him casually. It was strange, the tension that had been there for so long was slowly starting to fade. I believe it was because I was rested but it could have been for some other unknown reason.

I hissed throughout the whole process of Law cleaning my wounds and putting some ointment on it. Without much emotion, he handed me a part of the bandages and start working with me as we wrapped it around my torso once more. It was less tight than last time, and Law made sure to tell me to remove them in a few hours to let the wounds breathe.

He waited for me to dress back before telling me, “Hands, now.”

Right, I had a lot of other cuts all over my body. Without realizing it, I just put my hands behind my back and waited for him to start working on it until I realized what I had done. Closing my eyes for a moment, I giggled nervously. “Fuck, that’s not-“ I quickly turned around on the bed, showed my hands in front, not looking at him when I did so.

All I heard was a short huff from Law. Then he started checking everything, rolling up my sleeves to look at the cuts on my arms and cleaning them again without a word. I could feel my body heating up.

  
His hands were holding my arms so delicately, I wondered what it’d feel in another setting. A more intimate settings, where they’d travelled from the back of my thighs to my back, then my stomach-

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?” Law’s voice interrupted my thoughts, hearing what he’d said, I looked up from the ground and focused somewhere closer to his eyes.

“That’s not my eyes, it’s my earrings.” He sighed, moving to my other arm carefully. He wasn’t pushing, but I could feel the mood turning strange.

Maybe I could come clean? He seemed to have calmed down, maybe I could tell him why I followed him to Punk Hazard. “Maybe I’m embarrassed.” I said, looking to the side. My face was heating up more and more, my heart beating faster. I was determined to tell him.

“About the hands? Restraints is something a lot of people-“

I interrupted him with a loud exasperated sigh, “God no, not that. Please don’t mention that, let that moment disappear from your mind, please.”

“Maybe I don’t want it to.” He finished taking care of my wounds, but did not go away.

Instead, he stepped closer, towering me. His hands rose, one placed on my shoulder and the other brushing the exposed skin of my neck. “Turns out you might actually enjoy the leash in the end…” My skin was set aflame, I finally looked up and met his gaze in pure shock and surprise. Yet some part of me was delighted by that suggestion, his eyes looked at mine with something close to boredom but it wasn’t that, it was something darker.

However, it quickly disappeared, and he stepped away from me with a grunt. “Forget what I said, rest. It’ll be a while before we arrive-“

“No, no, don’t do that- Law, don’t throw it under the rug.” I said quickly before grabbing his good arm and desperately trying to have him stay, “Ask me again, please, ask me again.”

He was confused, I could see it on his face as he asked, “What?”

“Ask me why I followed you-“

“Why did you follow me to Punk Hazard, why can the rest of my crew obey a simple order but you can’t?” Okay, maybe I deserved it. Maybe I poked the bear too much, but he still said it in a quite aggressive way that almost made me bolt away and abandon my mission. But instead, I answered.

“Maybe Shachi, Penguin, Bepo and rest of the crew are not here because…” I gripped the hem of my shirt and looked off to the many cabinets in the room. Night was slowly falling and it was soon time to eat, then our shift... But I continued, “Because they don’t love you the same way I do-“

“Why would you do that?”

I covered my mouth at the incoming rejection and took a deep breath before asking him what he meant by that. “I’m your Captain-“

“Don’t you think I already know that? That’s what makes it worse! But I still wanted to make sure you were a good person…”

“Why would you love me?” He asked, stepping closer to me.

I took a step back, my legs hitting the bed and I pushed him away. “Are you really asking this? Just because you’re stubborn and grumpy doesn’t mean you’re unlovable Law. You’re also very kind, in case you didn’t notice, and you make me laugh… I just feel nice around you… serene…”

Running my hands over my face, I sat back on the bed, bringing my legs to my chest before resting my elbows on my knees as I sighed. I had to hold back my tears until this was over. “Maybe it’s for the best if I’m not in the crew anymore, at least it won’t be awkward.” I muttered.

“I have a hard time trusting people.” He stated while sitting in front of me. I hesitantly looked up, confused. “And I’m harsh. I have nightmares, I am bitter, I have goals, people around me they don’t live long because my goals are dangerous.”

Nodding, I kept my gaze on his, “You also care for people around you. You do everything for their safety. You warn everyone, of the danger, we stick around because we care about you. For someone bitter you’re very sweet with your crew,” I chuckled dryly, “And the nightmares? It’s a package deal with this life, is it not? Like you said, it’s not a kid’s game Law. We know what we signed up for.” I ran my hands over my face once more, exhaling loudly. It was relieving to have confessed, even though now I felt sad from whatever this was. Had I been rejected?

“Never run into danger ever again.” He said out of nowhere, I felt his weight next to me. He was sitting with an arm on one his knee, while the other leg dangled off the bed.

“That, I can’t promise, sorry.” I mumbled.

“You said you weren’t part of the crew anymore, but you are. You never left it, I just tried to keep you away from this.” His voice was a lot softer than it usually was, but that’s because we were alone and he did not have to pretend. He did not have to be the leader.

“You could have said so, instead of being a real ass.” I believe the nerves of having bared my feelings made me stuttered there but I ignored it.

“What would you have said if I told you to stay because I did not want you to get hurt?”

I pondered the question a moment before laughing and admitting with a tired grin, “I would have told you that I knew what I was doing and come anyway.”

“Exactly, you are very much like Mugiwara-ya just for that.” He explained with the ghost of a smile on his face.

“Ah but you get along well with him, so it’s alright, I don’t mind.” There was a short moment of silence, he turned his face slowly and looked at me with a smug smile.

“I must have a thing…” He turned around on the bed and grabbed my ankles before pulling me towards him, I almost fell forward when I lost the support under my elbows but played along. “… For impulsive idiots,” Taking off his hat, he set it next to him while still looking at me, I could see his eyes a lot better. There seemed to be a glimmer of playfulness in them that I could not get enough of.

I giggled nervously, losing all my sentence-making skills. I wanted to reply something, anything, maybe something witty even but I could feel his hands gliding from my ankles to my knees before slowly going to my thighs. A dumb, nervous, smile was painted on my face, I knew it but I couldn’t stop it. My heart was trying to jump out of my chest, I could feel it pounding rapidly, no signs of calming down. “Haha what- what do you think you’re you doing?” I managed to utter; my nervousness was too present.

“I thought you could read me like an open-book. But it seems you’re as bad at doing that, as you are at listening to my orders.” He grinned before moving one hand to my jaw. He splayed it there, angling my head as he stared down at me with what I could only describe as longing. _Was this happening? Was this really happening?_ I parted my lips, surprised by his words then smiled, it was closer to a rictus than a smile, “Seriously, what are you doing? Law…”

A wicked smile was now displayed on his lips as he leaned in even more, his nose brushing against mine. I could feel his breath on my lips and could also smell the rubbing alcohol on his hands. I grabbed the lapel of his coat and tried to bring him closer, he chuckled and held back, his thumb caressing my cheek slowly. “Look at you, so eager-“ I was not here to play games, as he talked I tugged hard on his coat and brought his lips against mine. His hand slithered from my jaw to the back of my head where I felt his fingers thread in my hair, feeling his nails scrape against my skull sent shivers down my spine.

I’d never thought this day would happen, but I was enjoying every bit of it. He was smiling against my lips, his tongue darting out as he wordlessly asked for permission. I welcomed it with as much eagerness as him, we broke the kiss to breathe for a moment and looked at each other. His eyes were filled with lust and what I could only hope was longing or love, for I knew my eyes were filled with those. “Stay by my side, I don’t think I could bear seeing you hurt again…” He breathed sadly.

Looking at him with a bit of doubt, I whispered, “Are you… is this… can you say it please… can you say it so that I know it’s real? I don’t-“ I let out a nervous laugh, it earned me a slight frown from Law but he ghosted his lips against mine ever so lightly. “I’m in love with you.” He breathed against my lips, I shivered and muttered “Good,” Now smiling, I brought my eyes to his and said, “I’m not leaving your side if you stay by mine… _dear_ …” I saw his face turn a different shade of red, it was the cutest sight. His lips met mine once more, this time with more passion.

My hands travelled from his coat to his stomach where I barely grazed it before gripping his hips. He hissed into the kiss, pulling away for a second, “Careful, it stills hurts,” He breathed out before going for the kiss once more, I stopped him and looked at his stomach with a frown, “Sorry, we should probably stop-“ “No, come here,” With a hand now on the small of my back and the other under one of my thighs, he brought me over his lap where I could look down at him, my knees resting on the mattress on either side of him. He was careful with his touch on my back, and while my arms still hurt, I couldn’t stop myself from letting my hands travel to his shoulders before sliding my fingers inside his messy hair.

This time I was the one to angle his head for the kiss, my fingers brushing over his earrings. He smiled smugly and pecked my lips tenderly, “You’re hurt, so I’ll let you do as you please but if it was up to me, I’d take you right now,” He whispered seductively before kissing my neck, I was giggling at first at the sensation of his beard against my skin but soon enough I was gasping and pressing his head closer to my neck. Those weren’t kisses, he was leaving hickeys all over my skin, not giving me any sign of stopping as his hands ventured under my clothes and grabbed my ass.

I moaned and rested my head against his before asking him to stop, “We should rest first, before…” “Before what? We’re just kissing, did you have something else in mind?” Seeing his sly expression, I grabbed his hat and shoved it on his face, pulling it down to cover his eyes. “Nope, nothing. Let’s head back to the others.”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, he put his cap properly and kissed my neck one last time before helping me up with him. “We won’t be alone until we arrive at Zou, are you sure you want to go back already?”

I was already turned towards the door, but I faced him once more upon hearing his subtle plea for more. “Does my Captain crave more of me?” I asked cockily, there was something empowering in knowing I had the same effect on him, he had on me. He seemed taken aback for a moment, before his expression returned to his usual scowl.

“Let’s go back then,”

I blocked his path and placed a hand on his chest before he could step forward, “Not yet, you’re right. I guess… I could use some… some _you_ time.” I mumbled. I didn’t want to admit how much I actually wanted him, if not needed him.

I wanted to act cool and composed, but I was not yet ready to go back inside and act like nothing happened. “Some ‘me time’? I think you should be clearer,” He said with a serious expression, but I think he was being playful. I think he was saying this because I had told him the same thing earlier, but I had done my fair share of being straightforward with my feelings for today.

He hummed as if to nudge me, without doing so physically. Clearing my throat, I shrugged, “I’m not going to be all touchy and shit once we get back to them… I don’t really-“ Sighing I looked up at him, hoping he wouldn’t get mad, “I’m not into PDA okay? But I really want to be close to you right now, I,” a shaky laugh escaped from my lips as I thought of how stupid it sounded, but I continued, “I still can’t believe this is real, nor that you are alive… I could really use some more of…” I took a deep breath and sighed just as loudly, “More of your touch, I want to hold you okay? I really, really want to hold you right now.”

I heard him chuckle lightly before he put everything down on the desk once more and looked back at me with the smallest of smiles. “I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he started, pulling me closer by putting his hands on my hips. “I’m not going to be, as you say, ‘all touchy and shit’ either. Not in front of them, but I can’t promise that once we’re back with at the Polar Tang.” He continued with a content smile this time. His hands travelled from my hips to my shoulders where he wrapped his arms around me. “I think Black Leg is still cooking for now, we have a bit of time in front of us.”

I felt relieved that he did not tell me off, but also very glad that we were, as he said, on the same page. Hesitantly, I nudged his hand with mine. He laughed grabbed me gently, then led me back to the bed where he treated my wounds. “You know, you don’t have to ask to hold my hand.” He said softly once we sat down and I was glued to his side, my legs over his and my back slightly off the wall to avoid putting more pressure on the wounds. “Good to know… you can too, if you’d like.” I said with a timid smile.

There was a calming silence between us, it felt comforting. Just knowing he was there.

“You’re a lot calmer than I’ve seen you these past few days.” He remarked, patting his lap as if to invite me to come over. Chuckling, I turned him around so that we were face to face, in the length of the single bed, and nudged his legs apart to sit there while my legs were on either side of him. That way I wasn’t putting my weight on him, but on the mattress. I saw the way his cheeks lit up but did not mention it. “Well, you know, I’m only calmer because I lost a lot of blood.” I quoted him, earning a short laugh as he slithered his hands to my waist where he held me there.

“I thought you were getting shy for a second,” He smirked.

“Me? Never. Never, no, no. There’s no need to, haha…” I gripped his knees like it was an armchair when he brought them mid-way to his chest, his feet still on the ground, on each side of me.

“That would be something, considering how you were kissing me moments ago.” I never thought he’d be this cocky, I thought he’d be awkward and playing hard to get but he was having a lot of fun seeing me squirm.

“ _You_ kissed _me_ ,” I corrected. But I did not really remember who had started it, that moment was too foggy even though it made my stomach flip just from thinking about it.

He laughed so beautifully just from what I said. While it was beautiful, I looked to the side embarrassed. “ _You_ kissed _me_ , I know because I can still remember how eager you were to-“ He started, but I interrupted him,

“ _We_ kissed, both of us, it’s a shared action, okay? Let’s not talk about it, let’s just leave it at that.” I grumbled, my face probably flaring up by now. I heard him hum, but was it in agreement? I hardly doubt that. From the look on his face, he was enjoying this. Too much.

“If I had been the one who had initiated the kiss, it would have gone like this,” Suddenly, I was pulled onto his lap once more and he was gripping my chin between his index finger and thumb. He was keeping my mouth slightly open, I tried to close it but he’d chuckled and opened it once more. I tried to stare at his hand but he tutted me and told me to look at him. “I would have kept you like this a little while, seeing how you’d react,” then he gently brushed his thumb over my lips, smiling faintly, his burning gaze was piercing mine.

His voice dropped lower, “Then I would have tested the water, like this,” he pushed his thumb inside my mouth and pulled my lower lip down, showing my teeth. My heart was beating fast, I wanted to say something, get the upper hand but I also wanted to see what he’d do. “You’re breathing unevenly, am I getting to you?” He whispered with a smug smile. I did not reply, instead I was lost on the new sensation of his free hand trailing up very slowly from my hip to side.

With as much care, he wrapped his hand around my neck. It wasn’t tight, he was barely grazing his fingers on the skin, each of his fingers dancing across my skin like butterfly wings. He slid his index and thumb back on my chin and raised it to have a better access to my neck where I heard him sigh. “Beautiful,” I looked at him from that weird angle, my eyes almost closed as I tried to keep my gaze on him. When he dipped his head, I felt his tongue on my skin and gasped, gripping his shoulder from the sudden warm sensation.

  
Since we had just come back from outside, his hands were just as frigid as mine but we couldn’t care less. Our warm bodies were enough for now as I was melting in his cold touch.

He left a trail of open mouth kisses on my neck, then full ones on my collarbone before gradually moving behind my earlobe where I could feel his even breath caressing my hair. I gasped at the sensation, leaning against his touch more. I was gripping his shoulders tight but did not dare move in fear of missing out on more of him. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” He whispered, his teeth scraping against my ear, the feeling of his beard joined quickly after.

I let out a breathless sound, it made him chuckle. “Suddenly so silent… I haven’t even kissed you yet.” I made a sound close to a grunt but it came out as a whine with how leaned back my head was. “I like to take my time,” he uttered against the skin of my neck once more before grazing his tender lips against it then sucking on it, leaving more marks. “Very slowly… getting you to the edge…” He hummed against my skin, his hands deftly touching the right spots.

No matter how cold it was starting to be outside, I felt like my skin was on fire. Each of his touch sparked something new. “You haven’t answered my question, perhaps I should stop-“

Looking back at him I frowned, “ _No,_ ” My voice was so low I wouldn’t have been surprised if he hadn’t heard me, he grinned widely at my words and tilted my head back once more, resuming what he was doing. One of his hands gripped the back of my neck surely, it wasn’t painful but not very soft either. The other brushed over each spot after he kissed them. He took his time, and I was left, mouth open, eyes closed, enjoying every second of it.

I was not ready to tell him but I was relishing in the feeling of his hands against my skin. Part of me knew that those hands did a lot of things, not all good, and he had the power to kill me if he could. But right now, they were sending shocks coursing through my body, they were like feathers grazing my very being, they were a sinfully pleasing grip the perfect amount of pain and pleasure.

Lost in my thoughts, I had not realized he had tilted my head forward. When I slowly opened my eyes, I met his half-lidded grey ones. “Look at you, I’m barely touching you and you’re already at my mercy…” He leaned in, his nose brushing against mine just like before except this time I was drowning in his touch. Both of his hands were holding my head, splayed with his thumbs on my cheeks and the rest of his fingers behind my ears.

With his lips merely breaths away from mine, he whispered, “If I had been the first one to kiss, it would have gone like this,” then he our lips met and it was different than any previous kiss. It was wanting, longing, like two people finally meeting after years of yearning for one another’s touch, finally succumbing to that craving for intimacy. But it was also, needy and desperate, like drinking a fresh glass of water in the middle of summer, you don’t want to miss one drop, you want it all for yourself and you take it, the biggest gulps of your life. It felt refreshing in that warm summer heat, but only for that mere moment.

When we broke apart, we were both breathless. I was going to speak up, but he started kissing my cheeks, my neck, my collarbone, carefully avoiding my wounds. I chuckled and pressed my hands onto his cheeks, trying to stop him but he moved back to my neck where he kissed me again and again. This time it wasn’t lustful, nor sensual, I felt loved, my once shattered heart from seeing him falling from high above was slowly filling up with so much warmth. “Law, my god Law, let me- let me love you too, please.” I said with a chuckle, it sounded poetic but all I wanted was to kiss him as much as he was kissing me.

“We’re going to have to go back, I want to enjoy this a bit longer,” He uttered against my throat, I let my head fall back as I laughed, giving him a better access for a few seconds before pushing his head away.

“I never thought you’d be such a romantic.” I said with an embarrassed smile, he was looking at me with such a strong emotion, I had a hard time discerning which one it was. Leaning my forehead against his, I sighed and closed my eyes. “Are you sure-“ I was cut off when Law spurted, “I also thought you were dead…”

Opening my eyes, I realized what plagued his pretty eyes, it was fear. Fear and worry. I was about to ask what he meant when he continued, looking at our now intertwined hands. “Doflamingo said he had placed a bounty on your head, and if you weren’t dead by his own hands, then the civilians would have gotten you.” I frowned, gripping his hands tighter. “He showed me my vivre card. The one I had given you, at that moment I thought you were gone.” I gasped, realizing where it had disappeared. I had no clue how they took it from my pockets but now it made sense.

“I’m sorry… I don’t know how they took it, it was in my pockets the entire time-“

Law chuckled dryly, shaking his head. “He fooled us both. But now he’s defeated, I don’t want to think about him anymore. Let’s forget about it.” He said with a certain finality to his words.

While he was looking off to the side, I observed his solemn grey eyes. I did not know what to say to help him, I didn’t think he had gone through this much. Tapping my finger on his hand, I grinned when he looked back at me, a brow quirked.

“I’ll admit I kissed you first but-“ he laughed, his head hitting the wall behind him. A relieved smile on his lips, relieved and happy.

Telling him to shut up, I continued, “ _But_ , I think we should talk about _you_ telling _me_ you want to put a leash around my-“ “That’s a topic for when we’re back on the Polar Tang, I’m not having that discussion right now.” He said quickly as he stood up, pulling me up with him. This time I was the one who was laughing, pulling at his hand I called his name softly, “It’s pretty fun that, _that’s_ what initiated all this-“ I gestured at the both of us.

“You know what? _It is_ , you did ask me to stay even after that, and the hands behind your back? Maybe we _should_ have that conversation right now.”

How could he turn the topic on me when he was the one who said the kinky shit? Letting go of his hand, I walked past him, hiding my face. “Polar Tang it is, _I’m not having that discussion right now.”_ I imitated his tone, earning a deadpanned look from my Captain, now lover. Without further delay, we left the infirmary.

Before I could go a separate way from Law, he gently took my hand in his and stared at me.

Looking askance, I chuckled. “Is there something you’d like to say?” I asked with a small smile. Pulling me closer to him once more, he let his hand trail up my arm.

“I’m going to contact the crew,” He did not elaborate and just looked at me, so I prodded. “And you… want me to be there,” his face did not help at all, as usual he was wearing a scowl and did not say more. “Or not? Is it more of a ‘we’re alive’ kind of call or is it like, ‘coming clean to our friends that we’re dating’ kind of call.”

“I’ll tell them we’ll be arriving in a few days, knowing them they’re worried sick.” He rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face that said he did not mind that much.

“You’re right, do you think they’ve encountered any problem on Zou?” I asked as we started walking side by side to where we could find a den den mushi. I had never seen that island, if anything it was but a legend to me, or as it was known, the ghost island.

I was surprised when we entered a room, filled with laughter and camaraderie, and Law huffed a laugh. “Do you not know about the plce? Bepo’s from Zou.”

“What? I never knew! Do you where they’re all from?! All of them?” putting a hand in front of him, I stopped him and squinted my eyes, “Do you know where _I’m_ from?”

Law pushed my hand away and mumbled the sea I was from, surprising me once again. “Don’t act surprised, I keep track of all of my crew.”

“Right, it makes sense.”

We continued talking as we crossed the room and managed to get hold of the den den mushi. There was a bit of shoves and pushes from the commotion around as people drank and partied, but we made it through. When Law got in contact with the crew, Shachi picked up but soon after a shuffle was heard then loud whines, everyone on the other end of the line was moving and trying to talk to Law.

“I can’t handle that much noise, I’ll let you check up on them, alright?” I leaned over to tell Law, he nodded but before I could go, I heard our crew asking if they heard right, if it was me. Law told them it was me, that I was alive and he took care of my wounds which only brought more worry.

Questions were shot from each and every one of them, like asking what had happened, where we were, how was Law. But the one I heard was, Bepo asking Law if he had told me yet. What was he supposed to have told me? I didn’t know but it definitely piqued my interests. So, I decided to stay and pulled up a seat to sit next to Law with a huge grin.

Mouthing I asked, “Tell me what?”. He scowled and turned around, replying to all of their questions and calming their worries. It took a bit of time, but when he thought he was done, Bepo asked the question again. And Law grunted in response.

“Captain! You have to come clean. It can only go well!” I heard the polar bear say, his statement was backed up by the rest of the crew.

Bringing the den den mushi closer to his mouth, Law mumbled something.

Cheers erupted from the device, “Good! It was painful, Shachi you owe me, I knew they both couldn’t be _that_ stupid.” I heard Penguin say.

Giving my Captain a curious look, I noticed his flustered expression and smiled back timidly. Why did it feel so nice? Part of me knew the crew would accept it, and yet hearing them supporting us took a weight off my chest. Or perhaps was it, relief from having carried this crush for so long? Whichever it was, it felt nice, and I could probably sleep tight tonight. 

When Law was about to hang up, Penguin asked if I was still there. I contemplated telling them nothing, but instead I shuffled closer to the scowling man and peeked over his shoulder. “I’m still here-“ “Now you can finally admit you just couldn’t bear being separated from your true love instead of using Bepo as an ex-“ He was being overdramatic and clearly teasing me, yet I fell for it and grabbed the den den mushi, cutting the conversation short before putting it down on the table with too much force.

There would have been a silent if it hadn’t been for the hubbub in the background. “I’ll give them all a beating when we see them again.” I huffed, looking at Law for the first time since I hung up on the whole crew. He was leaning against the wall with a knowing smirk, it made me feel funny inside but I ignored it and gesture at him with my chin. “What?”

“Nothing.” He replied.

“Go ahead, tell me, you look arrogant and I-“ I was going to say I hated it but, who was I kidding? It was hot. “And I want to smack that smug smile off your face.”

“We both know I’d win in a fist fight, even more so in the state you’re in.” He said casually while making his way towards me, his stride slow and deliberate. When he reached me, he did not touch me, instead he leaned in and whispered right next to my ear, “Not that I couldn’t win if you weren’t in that state, you’d submit anyway.” He huffed a laugh, his breath hitting my burning skin.

When he pulled away, I stared at him, mouth agape. Had he really said that? “I- you- no? Maybe? I don’t know, I wasn’t planning on fighting you, so…” I trailed off, feeling stupid for ruining the mood but I could still save it. I wanted to see how far I could take it. Maybe test the water and flirt back, like he did moments ago.

Before I could speak, the cook appeared by the doorway and called everyone to eat. Throwing one last glance at Law, I said, “This isn’t over,”

“I hope not, I like what I started.” He stated, ruffling my hair before walking away with the ghost of a smile on his face. “And since I’m the one who started it, you’ll have to come back to me with a more satisfying answer. You seemed to be struggling there… maybe with time you’ll find back the ability to talk.”

I had no idea what he had started, but wherever this was leading us, I knew nothing was going to happen on this ship and I would probably go crazy from the waiting. But it was worth the wait, I had waited long enough to be honest with him and myself, I think waiting was now a skill I had mastered.

For now, I’d have to play it off. Play is casual, no matter how much I wanted to walk by his side and be close to him. It was strange, I always thought it was because I was worried about him but now I knew I simply wanted to be by his side and bathe in the serenity of his presence. For someone so dangerous, he had a calming aura that I could not get enough of.

“Are you going to keep staring or are you coming?” I heard Law’s voice by the door. Everyone had left, but him. He stood there, his coat ruined, his body wrapped in bandages, his sword in hand. And yet, he was smiling. But only for me.

“Well, maybe I’m enjoying the view?” I teased while making my way towards him. I could help but notice the slight change of colour on his cheeks, but he hid is well enough behind his sudden scowl. “Come on,” his hand grabbed mine, our fingers intertwining. “You need to eat if you want to heal up.”

Looking down at our hands, my stomach twisted in a strange knot. While I said I didn’t want PDA, holding hands felt nice, it felt reassuring. Perhaps this I could handle, why should I care what the rest of them thought? “You sure you want to hold hands?” I asked him when I remembered he was just as apprehending of being public about our affection.

“If I let you go, you’ll probably get lost and wounded, one way or another. I’m okay with this as long as you are.” He said in an off-handed way. But I knew it was not about me getting lost, he wanted this as much as I did. I squeezed his hand tighter and hummed. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll flaunt you-“

“Don’t, just don’t.”

“What, you don’t want to be my trophy husband?” I said playfully as we started walking towards the kitchen.

His only reply was a deadly glare which only made me laugh, “Kidding, I won’t say anything promised.” I trailed off. “But I’ll be thinking it very loudly, because I get to be with the Surgeon of Death and that’s kind of hot.” It earned me a choking reaction from the Warlord who only gave me a side glance before looking away, slightly flustered.

I could get used to getting him to blush and be embarrassed, the side flirting seemed to be more effective than my pitiful attempt at straight-forward flirting and I took note of that.

When I started this impulsive approach, this stupid and rash action of following him to Punk Hazard I never thought it’d end up like this. But now I could say without an ounce of doubt that I did not regret it one bit. Sure, I got yelled at a lot and maybe I got more trauma than I thought I’d get but it turned out pretty well.

Our adventure was not at its end, we had a long way to go to defeat the Warlords and I was ready for it, as long as I was by Law’s side and I had my family with me.

“Hey, I’m glad I didn’t listen to you when you told me to go back to the Polar Tang the first time.” I told Law before we entered the kitchen.

“I can’t say I am, but I suppose it’s not that bad you did not listen to me… just this time. You better follow my orders next time, or I’ll chain you to the ship and leave you there.” He grunted. His thumb brushing over the back of my hand balanced his emotionless words. “Aye aye Captain.” I said teasingly, earning a shove from him.

_It’ll be alright_ , I thought, content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm the end! For now, I like to leave it open, maybe I'll have another idea in that time line that I'll add as a new work in that series!
> 
> My whole goal was to get them to confess, hence the shortness of the story but yeah! I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Words: 7073  
> Added on 6th February 2021


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